Is Knight Street Construction Starting Finally?

Can I take a break from all this Coronavirus talk today and tell you how happy I am about something I saw today? Work crews on Knight Street!

I must admit, all this news about COVID-19 is overwhelming and some days I feel like my head is going to explode. Today, I woke up at 2am and started working on my morning news pieces. I actually went into the office at about 4 (which is way early for me), but things have been a little crazy.

But I really got something to smile about on my way home at lunch time. I actually saw workmen on Knight Street!! But the big question is "is the work finally starting to pave this road? I got some bad news on that front this morning.

City Engineer Patrick Furlong sent me this message:

"It is not starting. They are probably doing the geotechnical work that is needed for some additional engineering design."

You are probably saying to yourself: "So what?" I get it. Work crews are no big deal. But you don't understand. Knight Street is in deplorable condition. And it was one of several projects we voted on in the 2011 bond issue. We voted to spend more than $4 million dollars to repave the roadway. Again, we voted on this in 2011.

Here's what we approved:

"The improvements consist primarily by repaving the severely deteriorated roadway section adjacent and widening the two asphalt roadway section. New underground drainage, curb and gutter, sidewalks and street lights will be included. A bike path/jogging trail will be extended from Shreveport Barksdale to East Preston to tie to the Clyde Fant Parkway bike path/jogging trail."

Why has it taken 9 years to get to this project? I'm told there were countless delays in moving the utilities. But now it looks like we will start seeing some movement. I only hope we get what we were promised. I see far too many people walking to an from Walmart on the side of the road. They really need sidewalks and we need a bike trail.

So it looks like we still have to wait.