Much of LA 74 traverses a string of newer residential subdivisions growing out of the Baton Rouge metropolitan area.

LA 75 follows the east bank levee of the Mississippi River, heading toward Carville on the south and connecting with the Plaquemine Ferry via Sunshine on the north.

[2][3][4] LA 74 proceeds eastward through a narrow strip of residential development, and after 1.1 miles (1.8 km), passes by the entrance to the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, the state's second largest prison.

0.6 miles (0.97 km) later, LA 74 curves to the northeast and crosses the Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) tracks.

[1] Average daily traffic volume in 2013 is reported as 4,900 vehicles within St. Gabriel, increasing to 11,800 between the city limits and LA 73.

With the renumbering, the existing highway between St. Gabriel and Gonzales, a continuous road with no turns, now followed a single route number.

[3][5][11][12] In the mid-1960s, LA 30 was relocated onto its current alignment alongside the Illinois Central (now the Canadian National) railroad tracks.

[13][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, virtually the entire route of LA 74 is proposed for deletion as it does not meet a significant interurban travel function.