Randy Brown, Bossier Press-Tribune
After more than two decades of planning, environmental studies and efforts to secure funding, Bossier Parish officials Thursday announced a $25 million federal grant that will help move the long-planned East-West Corridor project toward construction.
The Bossier Parish Police Jury held a press conference Thursday morning at the Bossier Parish Courthouse in Benton to formally announce the federal Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD, grant awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The funding will support the development of a new east-west roadway connecting Winfield Road on the east with Benton Road on the west. Parish officials say the project is intended to improve mobility, relieve congestion on existing roads and provide another transportation connection as Bossier Parish continues to grow.
The project is formally identified as the Bossier Parish East-West Corridor, or Winfield Road Extension. Previous parish documents describe the initial construction as a two-lane roadway with right-of-way preserved for future widening.
Parish officials emphasized Thursday that the project is the result of years of planning and preparation rather than a recently conceived proposal.
The effort dates to 2002, when Bossier Parish began developing a comprehensive land-use and development plan. One result of that planning was a proposed outer transportation corridor north of Interstate 220 that would connect Winfield Road and Benton Road.
Between 2005 and 2010, planning and environmental reviews continued, including coordination with government agencies, public comment periods, public meetings and formal hearings. The Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments’ project library lists the Bossier Parish East-West Corridor environmental document and a Finding of No Significant Impact dated Nov. 24, 2010.
Parish officials said right-of-way preservation, environmental compliance and long-range transportation planning remained priorities during the following years.
In 2022, the project reached another milestone when the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development began seeking consulting firms for engineering and related services for the Winfield Road Extension project. Parish records show the project continued moving through engineering and traffic-study phases in subsequent years.
The latest milestone came with the $25 million BUILD grant.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced the federal award to Bossier Parish, providing a significant portion of the funding needed to advance the project.
“This $25 million grant is more than just funding,” Bossier Parish Police Jury President Tom Salzer said Thursday. “It’s a direct investment in the daily lives of the people that we serve.”
“We’ve seen the traffic. We’ve heard the concerns, and we know what better roads can mean for our families and our businesses across our parish,” Salzer said.
Salzer thanked Johnson, federal partners, Louisiana DOTD Secretary Glenn Ledet and the Police Jury team for their work on the project.
Bossier Parish Vice President Juliana Parks, whose district will be directly affected by the proposed roadway, said the project will provide another route for residents.
“All of Bossier Parish, and particularly my district — this road’s gonna go right through the middle of it,” Parks said. “I’ve listened to the comments from the people of my district and Bossier. I know the traffic problems that you face.”
“This East-West Corridor is gonna provide a safe and convenient route to get you where you want to go,” she said.
Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Glenn Ledet also attended the announcement and described the project as a major transportation investment in northwest Louisiana. Ledet is the current DOTD secretary.
The $25 million BUILD grant is part of what Ledet described as a more than $54 million overall investment in the corridor.
“This is a major investment in this region,” Ledet said. “This $25 million is really part of this entire corridor, which is over $54 million investment.”
Ledet said DOTD will work with Bossier Parish on engineering, transportation planning and project delivery.
“This is the beginning of that — this East-West Corridor — to make critical mobility improvements in the region, allow congestion relief on our existing roadways, but also provide safety improvements,” Ledet said.
He said DOTD’s role will include bringing engineering expertise and statewide transportation planning experience to the project while working with parish officials to move the project forward.
“Obviously, everything that we do is about safety,” Ledet said. “And so this will be something that will help to improve the safety of the region.”
Ledet also emphasized the importance of regional transportation planning as communities grow.
“Transportation work does not stop at the city line,” he said. “One of the things that we do is try to make sure that we’re planning for regional growth across cities.”
While the federal grant represents a major funding milestone, parish officials said several steps remain before construction can begin.
Those steps include completing environmental approvals, final engineering and design work, acquiring remaining right of way and completing construction planning.
Parish officials said those activities are expected to take place over the next several years, with construction and completion anticipated within approximately three to five years, subject to required approvals, funding and project development.
Parish officials said the project will ultimately provide another east-west transportation connection through Bossier Parish while helping address traffic congestion and accommodate future growth.
“The East-West Corridor is more than just a road,” a parish official said during the announcement. “It is an investment in mobility, public safety, economic development and the continued growth of Bossier Parish.”
The project has been under consideration for more than 20 years. Parish records show the Police Jury has continued working with DOTD and other transportation partners on the Winfield Road Extension, including traffic studies, engineering services and federal funding applications.
Thursday’s announcement marked the latest step in a process that began with long-range transportation planning in 2002.
“Today would not have been possible without the commitment of local leaders, the dedication of our engineering and transportation professionals, the support of the Bossier Parish Police Jury, the Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments, the Department of Transportation and Development and our federal partners,” parish officials said.
With the federal funding now secured, officials said the focus will shift toward completing the engineering, environmental, right-of-way and design work needed to prepare the East-West Corridor for construction.