On December 31, 2010, the Melville Ferry service across the Atchafalaya River between St. Landry and Pointe Coupee Parishes was discontinued, effectively cutting the route of LA 10 in half. The ferry service and adjoining portions of LA 10 were once part of the main highway route between Baton Rouge and Alexandria and, on a larger scale, New Orleans and Shreveport. When the original state highway system was created in 1921, it was designated as part of State Route 1, which followed the Jefferson Highway auto trail. Five years later, it became the original route of US 71 when the U.S. Highway System was created. It was bypassed as a major through route during the 1930s when bridges were constructed on the present US 190 at Krotz Springs and LA 1 at Simmesport. A bridge at Melville never came to fruition, and the ferry served a small number of travelers until its ultimate closure at the end of 2010.