Louisiana Truck Bans & Hazmat Routes

Where Louisiana keeps trucks out

No parkway bans, but two live traps. Louisiana's Harvey Tunnel (US 90 Business) and Houma Tunnel (LA 3040) bar hazmat, flammable and combustible cargo and any oversize or overweight permit load (LADOTD). The old Belle Chasse Tunnel closed in December 2023; take the new Belle Chasse Bridge instead. In New Orleans, no truck 36 feet or longer enters the French Quarter, $500 then $1,000, and rigs over 5 tons must stay on the designated truck routes.

Key restrictions

• Harvey Tunnel (US 90 Bus.) and Houma Tunnel (LA 3040): no hazmat, flammable, oversize or overweight loads
• Belle Chasse Tunnel closed Dec 2023; take the new Belle Chasse Bridge
• French Quarter: no truck or truck-tractor 36 ft or longer; $500 then $1,000
• New Orleans trucks over 5 tons must use designated truck routes

• Parkway / road ban: No cars-only parkways. New Orleans bans big trucks from the French Quarter and keeps heavy trucks on designated routes, but by city ordinance, not parkway law.
• Hazmat: Both state highway tunnels ban hazmat: the Harvey Tunnel (US 90 Business) and the Houma Tunnel (LA 3040) prohibit hazardous, flammable and combustible cargo, plus oversize and overweight permit loads (LADOTD). The Belle Chasse Tunnel is gone, closed December 2023 and replaced by the Belle Chasse Bridge. Placarded loads follow the Interstates and posted routes under 49 CFR 397.
• Through-truck routes: New Orleans bans trucks and truck-tractors 36 feet or longer from the French Quarter (Vieux Carre), $500 first offense and $1,000 second. Citywide, trucks over 5 tons must stay on the designated truck-route network and leave it only for a local stop.
• Fine: French Quarter length violation: $500 first offense, $1,000 second (New Orleans Code Ch. 154, Art. XIV). Taking hazmat or an oversize load into a state tunnel is a DOTD/state violation on top of any damage you cause.

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