The route is classified as an urban collector by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (La DOTD) with an average daily traffic volume of 1,470 in 2013.

At the time, the main route between New Orleans and Baton Rouge was the Jefferson Highway, an auto trail which followed the modern River Road past Garyville.

[7][8] Route 1121 followed a parallel alignment to the modern LA 54, running through the center of Garyville to the north side of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley (now the Canadian National) railroad tracks.

This removed truck traffic serving the nearby industrial plants from the largely residential area traversed by the old route, which was also narrow and contained several right-angle turns.

Large trucks carrying chemicals would reportedly become stuck while navigating the route, creating obstructions to traffic and potential safety hazards.

[14] La DOTD is currently engaged in a program that aims to transfer about 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of state-owned roadways to local governments over the next several years.

[15] Under this plan of "right-sizing" the state highway system, the entire route of LA 54 is proposed for deletion as it does not meet a significant interurban travel function.