Judge Perez Drive is a major, four-lane thoroughfare located in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. The road was originally named Goodchildren Drive, but was renamed in November 1969 for former political boss of St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes, Judge Leander Perez (died March 1969). However, in the late 1990s, St. Bernard officials chose to distance themselves from Leander Perez's segregationist legacy. They dedicated Judge Perez Drive to the memory of Melvyn Perez, a long-time judge in St. Bernard—thus distancing the Parish from Leander Perez's controversial legacy without the expense of changing the signs labeled "Judge Perez Drive". However, the term "Judge Perez" is still most frequently associated with Leander Perez in the area.
This is the main commercial artery of St. Bernard Parish. Almost all of the retail and commercial development for St. Bernard is located along Judge Perez Drive. Retail development is especially dense along West Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette, where nearly all of the frontage is commercial. Nearly every major fast food chain is represented here, as well as several large national retailers, many with multiple locations. Along with St. Bernard Highway, and Paris Road, Judge Perez Drive is one of the three major arteries that are the only means of access in and out of St. Bernard Parish. All three arteries connect with major thoroughfares in neighboring Orleans Parish.
The thoroughfare, which carries the designation of Louisiana Highway 39, begins as West Judge Perez Drive in Arabi at the border between Orleans and St. Bernard parishes as a continuation of North Claiborne Avenue. It becomes East Judge Perez Drive at its intersection with Paris Road (Louisiana Highway 47) and continues as such for several miles. It narrows to two lanes and ends at Bayou Road, near St. Bernard High School.
The roadway had damage ranging from significant to severe after the levee breaches during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which submerged the Drive in as much as 14 feet (4.3 m) of oil-polluted flood water in some areas. The flooding waterlogged and undermined the road foundation. In the aftermath of the storm, the large military vehicles and heavy supply trucks traveling to the area for relief caused the roadway to cave in or be crushed in some areas, as with most major roads in areas that remained under water for more than two weeks. Temporary repairs were made, but the road remains very rough in parts.[ citation needed ]
St. Bernard Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 35,897. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807.
Plaquemines Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census the population is 23,042. The parish seat is Pointe à la Hache and the largest community is Belle Chasse. The parish was formed in 1807.
Chalmette is a census-designated place (CDP) in, and the parish seat of St. Bernard Parish, in southeast Louisiana, United States. The 2010 census reported that Chalmette had 16,751 people. The 2011 population is listed as 17,119; however, the pre-Katrina population was 32,069 at the 2000 census. The population hence declined by 46% between 2000 and 2010. Chalmette is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. Chalmette is located east of downtown New Orleans and south of Arabi, towards Lake Borgne.
U.S. Highway 171 (US 171) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System and the only route within that system currently located entirely within the state of Louisiana. It spans 177.44 miles (285.56 km) in a north–south direction from the junction of US 90 and Louisiana Highway 14 (LA 14) in Lake Charles to the junction of US 79/US 80 and LA 3094 in Shreveport.
Interstate 510 (I-510) is a short spur route of Interstate 10 within eastern New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It runs south from Interstate 10, intersects with U.S. Highway 90, and ends at the Almonaster Boulevard interchange, near the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility. From this point the highway continues south over the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway/Mississippi River Gulf Outlet on the Green Bridge.
Leander Henry Perez Sr., was the Democratic political boss of Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes in southeastern Louisiana during the middle third of the 20th century. Officially, he served as a district judge, later as district attorney, and as president of the Plaquemines Parish Commission Council. He was known for enforcing and preserving segregation.
U.S. Highway 90 Business is a business route of U.S. Highway 90 located in and near New Orleans, Louisiana. It runs 14.25 miles (22.93 km) in a general east–west direction from US 90 in Avondale to a junction with Interstate 10 (I-10) and US 90 in the New Orleans Central Business District.
Louisiana Highway 39 is a state highway in Louisiana that serves Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines Parishes. In New Orleans, LA 39 is referred to as North Claiborne Avenue, while in St. Bernard Parish, it is known as Judge Perez Drive. It spans 54.08 miles (87.03 km) and is bannered north/south.
Louisiana Highway 46 is a state highway in Louisiana that serves Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes. It runs a west to east direction for a total length of 29.5 miles (47.5 km). It is demarcated as Elysian Fields Avenue and St. Claude Avenue in the city of New Orleans and as St. Bernard Highway, Bayou Road, East Judge Perez Drive, Florissant Highway and Yscloskey Highway in St. Bernard Parish. The highway is recognized by the United States Department of Transportation as San Bernardo Scenic Byway.
Louisiana Highway 47 (LA 47) is a state highway located in southeastern Louisiana. It runs 15.91 miles (25.60 km) in a general southeast to northwest direction from the Mississippi River levee in Chalmette to the intersection of Hayne Boulevard and Downman Road in New Orleans.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LaDOTD) is a state government organization in the United States, in charge of maintaining public transportation, roadways, bridges, canals, select levees, floodplain management, port facilities, commercial vehicles, and aviation which includes 69 airports, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The agency has approximately five thousand personnel on staff and an operating budget of $2.3 billion. DOTD operations are run through nine district offices across the state.
The Paris Road Bridge is the name of the Paris Road Bridge carrying Louisiana Highway 47 across the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet between St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans, Louisiana. It is sometimes also called Green Bridge. The name "the Green Bridge" came from it originally being painted green. About 1980 it was repainted brown, and more recently grey, but locals continued referring to it as "the green bridge".
Chalmette High School is a high school in the Chalmette area of unincorporated St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a part of St. Bernard Parish Public Schools. Chalmette High School opened in 1954 at the current site of Chalmette Elementary School, previously known as Chalmette Middle School. In 1962, the school moved to the current location on the corner of Palmisano Avenue and Judge Perez Drive. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded the school, which was being used as an emergency shelter, along with the rest of the Greater New Orleans area. Chalmette High hosted the St. Bernard Unified School, before reopening as Chalmette High School for the 2006–2007 school year. In 2009, U.S. News magazine released its rankings of the best high schools in America, based on test scores and other factors. Chalmette earned a bronze medal as one of 39 schools in Louisiana to make the list.
Louisiana Highway 30 (LA 30) is a state highway located in southeastern Louisiana. It runs 28.10 miles (45.22 km) in a northwest to southeast direction from LA 73 in Baton Rouge to the junction of U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) and LA 431 east of Gonzales.
Claiborne Avenue is a major thoroughfare in New Orleans, Louisiana. It runs the length of the city, about 9.5 miles (15.3 km), beginning at the Jefferson Parish line and ending at the St. Bernard Parish line; the street continues under different names in both directions. It is called South Claiborne Avenue upriver from Canal Street and North Claiborne Avenue from Canal to St. Bernard Parish.
U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that spans 1,277 miles (2,055 km) from LaPlace, Louisiana to a point north of Hurley, Wisconsin. Within the state of Louisiana, the highway travels 69.12 miles (111.24 km) from the national southern terminus at US 61 in LaPlace to the Mississippi state line north of Kentwood.
Louisiana Highway 3082 was a state highway in Louisiana that served Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes. It spanned 6.2 miles (10.0 km) in a west–east direction along the present route of LA 39 between New Orleans and Chalmette. It was essentially a temporary designation for the relocation of LA 39 north (west) of LA 47.