Direct Highway from Port to I-49 Now Under Way
I avoid going to one of my favorite restaurants because it feels so far away. The Cajun Asian Restaurant is over by the port and in order to go eat there, I have to plan my entire day around it. It feels like I am making a trek into a land far far away. Everyone feels that way having to drive over by the port right?
According to KTBS 3 there is a brand new 10.5-mile stretch of highway that will give direct access from the Port to I-49, they are calling it the I-69 service road because the proposed project will basically run parallel to Interstate 69. If you think that this project, just like every other road project in Louisiana is something that will take several years to kick off, think again.
According to the article from KTBS 3, the DeSoto Parish Police Jury and the Port of Caddo-Bossier Commission are actually working together and have all given the project their blessing with plans to move forward with the $32.5 million project. In many ways, the project is already underway because the first phase, or should I say phase zero is almost done.
Stage Zero has no building involved, but it does take several months to accomplish. There is no groundbreaking during Stage Zero, it's all an environmental study and finding out the level of difficulties that they will face.
Why is this such a big and exciting project for Shreveport-Bossier? The Port's executive director Eric England explained to KTBS 3 that this could be a huge incentive for many businesses to bring their companies here.
KTBS 3 claims that this project is "a joint effort of the governing agencies in Caddo, DeSoto and Bossier parishes, the port commission, the Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments and Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.". Am I the only one who worries about too many cooks in the kitchen?