Origin
Metairie, LA
Evening in Metairie on Sunday
Local time
5:01 PM
CDT
Current temp
81°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Metairie, LA to New Orleans, LA
Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 19, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
12m
Distance
7.6 mi
12 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$1
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 11m
★
6 AM
0h 12m
8 AM
0h 14m
10 AM
0h 13m
12 PM
0h 13m
3 PM
0h 13m
5 PM
0h 14m
8 PM
0h 12m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Metairie, LA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
This short, 7.6-mile drive from Metairie, LA, to New Orleans, LA, is a quick 12-minute journey that's perfect for a single day trip. You'll primarily be on the Pontchartrain Expressway and I-10, making it a highway-focused experience. With a fuel cost estimated at just $1, this route is incredibly budget-friendly. Since it's so brief and within the same Southeast region of Louisiana, there's no need for an overnight stay; you can easily fit it into your schedule. This drive offers a direct and efficient connection between these two nearby locations.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Pontchartrain Expressway | 3.5 mi | 4m |
| I 10 | 1.7 mi | 2m |
| North Causeway Boulevard | 0.7 mi | 1m |
| Tulane Avenue | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| South Claiborne Avenue | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| 47th Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| Fagot Avenue | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| 46th Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Pontchartrain Expressway
— 3.5 mi, about 4m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Metairie, LA and New Orleans, LA.
1
Start on Fagot Avenue
111 ft
·
4 sec
·
Fagot Avenue
2
Continue on 47th Street
0.2 mi
·
40 sec
·
47th Street
3
At end of road, turn right onto North Causeway Boulevard
285 ft
·
17 sec
·
North Causeway Boulevard
4
Turn left onto 46th Street
47 ft
·
4 sec
·
46th Street
5
Turn right onto North Causeway Boulevard
0.6 mi
·
1 min
·
North Causeway Boulevard
6
Take the exit
425 ft
·
12 sec
Toward I 10 East, I 10 West: New Orleans, Baton Rouge
7
Keep slight right at fork
0.4 mi
·
52 sec
Toward I 10 East: New Orleans
Use the slight right lane.
8
Keep slight left at fork
0.2 mi
·
22 sec
Toward I 10 East: New Orleans
Use the slight left lane.
9
Merge onto I 10
1.2 mi
·
1 min
·
I 10
10
Keep slight right at fork onto I 10
3.5 mi
·
4 min
·
Pontchartrain Expressway
Toward New Orleans, Business District
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
11
Keep slight right at fork onto I 10
0.5 mi
·
36 sec
·
I 10
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
12
Take the exit
0.3 mi
·
36 sec
Exit 234B
Toward Poydras Street, Superdome
Use the straight / slight left lanes.
13
Turn left onto South Claiborne Avenue
0.3 mi
·
40 sec
·
South Claiborne Avenue
14
Turn right onto Tulane Avenue
0.3 mi
·
41 sec
·
Tulane Avenue
15
Arrive at destination
Tulane Avenue
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 125 decision points cluster between mile 0.2 and 6.8 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
6
0.2 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
North Causeway Boulevard
At end of road, turn right onto North Causeway Boulevard
Complex interchange - multiple decisions in a short stretch
7
0.9 mi into trip
|
~2m in
Keep slight right at fork toward I 10 East: New Orleans
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
Toward I 10 East: New Orleans
7
1.4 mi into trip
|
~3m in
Keep slight left at fork toward I 10 East: New Orleans
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight left lane.
Toward I 10 East: New Orleans
8
2.7 mi into trip
|
~5m in
|
I 10 / Pontchartrain Expressway
Keep slight right at fork onto I 10 / Pontchartrain Expressway toward New Orleans, Business District
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Toward New Orleans, Business District
8
6.8 mi into trip
|
~10m in
Take the exit toward Poydras Street, Superdome
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / slight left lanes.
Exit 234B
Toward Poydras Street, Superdome
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$1.15 one way
$2.30 round trip
$3.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
3 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.21 | $1.26 | $2.52 |
| premium | $4.56 | $1.36 | $2.73 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $1.68 | $3.36 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$1
Estimated CO2 emission: 2.7 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 2.3 | 0 | $0.80 | $0.36 |
| Efficient EV | 1.9 | 0 | $0.66 | $0.30 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 3 | 0 | $1.06 | $0.49 |
Gas CO2
3 kg
EV CO2
1 kg (67% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Destination
New Orleans, LA
Evening in New Orleans on Sunday
Local time
5:01 PM
CDT
Current temp
65°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
16 degrees cooler at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
12m on the road
Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
Expect a highway-focused drive for the majority of this 7.6-mile trip, with 69% of the route utilizing major roadways. The longest uninterrupted stretch you'll encounter is 3.5 miles along the Pontchartrain Expressway. This section is characterized by its directness and efficiency, designed to move traffic quickly. As you progress, you'll transition onto I-10 and North Causeway Boulevard, maintaining a consistent pace characteristic of interstate driving. The road's personality is utilitarian, prioritizing speed and ease of travel over scenic detours.
69% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
15 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 3.5 mi on Pontchartrain Expressway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
8/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Pontchartrain Expressway and I 10. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.2 miles in near North Causeway Boulevard.
Driving Effort
8/10
Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a short but busy drive. With 12 decision points packed into just 7.6 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 12m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.2 miles (North Causeway Boulevard): Complex interchange - multiple decisions in a short stretch; at 0.9 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 1.4 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
Between Metairie, LA and New Orleans, LA, road signs point toward Baton Rouge, Business District and Superdome.
Baton Rouge
0.9 mi in
|
~2m
Business District
2.7 mi in
|
~5m
|
via I 10
Superdome
6.8 mi in
|
~10m
About the Cities
Arriving in New Orleans, LA
Full guide →Way down yonder in New Orleans (French: La Nouvelle-Orléans), you'll find the roots of jazz and a blossoming culture that is unlike anything else on Earth. Here, the laid-back atmosphere of the riverfront South has mixed with French sophistication, Spanish style, and African-American energy to create something greater than the sum of its parts. "NOLA" is the largest city in Louisiana and one of the top tourist destinations in the United States. "Laissez les bons temps rouler" is what they say here in the Big Easy, and you too can "let the good times roll" with a cool stroll down Bourbon Street, a hot Dixieland band, and even hotter Creole cuisine. Mardi Gras may be the city's calling card, but that's just one day out of the hot and muggy year in New Orleans. Go ahead, take a riverboat down the Mississippi, munch on some beignets, and watch the Saints go marchin' in.
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 12m. Total distance: 7.6 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
12m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (69%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 3.5 miles on Pontchartrain Expressway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
It helps. This route has a higher-than-average number of complex decision points, which get harder in the dark. If the last hour of the trip is on surface roads or mountain grades, aim to arrive at New Orleans, LA before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.
Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.2 miles (North Causeway Boulevard): Complex interchange - multiple decisions in a short stretch; at 0.9 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 1.4 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at New Orleans, LA before heading back.
How this page is built
Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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