and
Pumpkin Center , some farther east
Baton Rouge to Hammond From the west, I-12 begins east of downtown
Baton Rouge in
East Baton Rouge Parish at an interchange with
I-10 known as the I-10/I-12 split. While I-10 heads to the southeast toward the
New Orleans metropolitan area, I-12 proceeds eastward toward the North Shore of
Lake Pontchartrain. Before leaving Baton Rouge, I-12 intersects some of its major arteries, including
Louisiana Highway 3064 (LA 3064; Essen Lane) and
LA 73 (
Jefferson Highway) via
LA 1068 (Drusilla Lane). It then passes through a cloverleaf interchange with
US 61 (
Airline Highway). These three exits serve several of the area's key medical and shopping centers, such as the
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and
Cortana Mall. The final exit in Baton Rouge is an interchange with O'Neal Lane (former
LA 3245), which serves the
Ochsner Medical Center-Baton Rouge and eastern suburbs. I-12 reaches the
Amite River later, where it enters
Livingston Parish and the city of
Denham Springs. I-12 skirts the southern edge of town, providing interchanges with
LA 3002 (South Range Avenue) and
LA 1026 (Juban Road). East of Denham springs, I-12 skirts the southern edge of Livingston Parish's only other city,
Walker. The interstate's sole exit in Walker is exit 15, an interchange with
LA 447. Past Walker are smaller communities in the eastern half of the parish. Exits include:
LA 63 serving
Livingston (exit 22),
LA 441 serving
Holden (exit 29), and
LA 43 serving
Albany and
Springfield (exit 32). Shortly after crossing the
Natalbany River into
Tangipahoa Parish, I-12 intersects
LA 1249, which leads to the communities of
Baptist and
Pumpkin Center. I-12 enters into a
cloverleaf interchange later with
I-55 at the southeast corner of
Hammond, the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish. I-55 heads toward
Jackson, Mississippi, on the north and
New Orleans on the south. after,
US 51 crosses I-12, but the two roads do not intersect. There is instead an interchange with
US 51 Business, which serves downtown Hammond, as well as the city of
Ponchatoula to the south.
Hammond to Slidell East of Hammond are two rural exits in southeastern Tangipahoa Parish:
LA 3158 (Airport Road) to
Hammond Northshore Regional Airport and
LA 445 to
Robert. Just after crossing into
St. Tammany Parish, I-12 curves to the southeast and begins to parallel the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. An interchange with
LA 1077 serves the town of
Madisonville to the south. The following exit, an interchange with
LA 21, also connects to Madisonville as well as the parish seat of
Covington to the north. Immediately before crossing the
Tchefuncte River, an exit to Pinnacle Parkway and East Brewster Road serves the growing shopping area east of LA 21. east of the bridge, I-12 passes through an interchange with
US 190 between Covington and
Mandeville. This section of US 190 serves as St. Tammany Parish's busiest north–south thoroughfare, connecting Covington and surrounding points with the
Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, a bridge leading to New Orleans. Further exits in St. Tammany Parish west of
Slidell include
LA 59 to Mandeville and
Abita Springs,
LA 1088 to
LA 36, and
LA 434 to
Lacombe. I-12 passes through an interchange with Airport Drive east of the Lacombe exit, which connects to
Slidell Airport due north. At this exit, I-12 enters the northern edge of Slidell. An interchange with
US 11 connects to the downtown area. Less than later, I-12 reaches its eastern terminus at a major interchange with I-10 and
I-59 at the northeast corner of town. From this interchange, I-10 heads southwest toward New Orleans and east toward
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, while I-59 heads north toward
Hattiesburg, Mississippi. ==History==