Along the way, it serves the cities of Opelousas, Alexandria, and Natchitoches, intersecting several cross-state highways, such as I-20, US 190, US 167, US 165, and US 84. It runs from I-10 in Lafayette to the Arkansas state line north of Shreveport, largely paralleling the older US Highway 71 (US 71) corridor, and connects the state's two east–west Interstates at two of its metropolitan centers. Interstate 49 ( I-49) is an Interstate Highway that spans 244.021 miles (392.714 km) in a north–south direction in the US state of Louisiana. Landry, Evangeline, Avoyelles, Rapides, Natchitoches, DeSoto, Caddo
