One of the guest speakers at Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony was Bossier City Mayor Lo Walker.
After noting what the Walter O. Bigby Carriageway project will do for Bossier City, Walker spoke of the commitment he and the Bossier City Council have had for this project.
“We are moving into Phase II today. It will be a new five-lane road connected to Benton Road. We will have an overpass over the Union Pacific Railroad with two additional roundabouts. The construction cost will be about $36.2 million. It will take about three years to complete,” Walker said.
“This is a testimony to a commitment the city council and myself made, to work the traffic problem that we have going on in the city,” he added.
Following Mayor Walker’s comments, at large Bossier City Council member and President David Montgomery Jr. addressed the audience.
“Back in the ’80s, the citizens of Bossier City voted for a sales tax. That was the origin of the original Arthur Ray Teague Parkway. There was always the vision from that point that this parkway would carry forward to north Bossier,” Montgomery Jr. said.
“This phase, which is open today, is roughly $12 million. And then the final phase will roughly be $50 million, which is what we are here to shovel the sand for. With the taxpayers’ approval of the sales tax, this total investment is $100 million. There’s not too many communities that can say that they’ve invested $100 million in a roadway,” he added.
At Tuesday’s Bossier City Council meeting, at large Bossier City Council member and President David Montgomery Jr. asked Bossier City Mayor Lo Walker and Bossier City Chief Administrative Officer Pam Glorioso to orchestrate Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony.
The Walter O. Bigby Carriageway will be a new five-lane facility connecting the recently completed (PHASE I), E. Texas Street Roundabout to Benton Road with an overpass over the Union Pacific Rail Road to alleviate congestion.
The main lanes consist of over 6,000 linear feet of 5 Lane roadway including:
—Two additional roundabouts.
—1,650’ 10-span composite steel and concrete girder bridge.
—1,350 foot rehabilitation of Shed Road connector to Benton Road.
—1,400 foot widening and rehabilitation of Hamilton Road connector to E. Texas Street.
—Construction cost for this phase is estimated at $36,220,964.
The carriageway is named after late state Rep. Walter O. Bigby, who lived in Bossier City and served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1968 to 1979. He died in 1980.
