Supporters of the Interstate 69 corridor project in north Louisiana are seeking to protect it until money is found to buy the needed land for its completion.
Backers want to keep developers from infringing upon lands dedicated to the future corridor, The Shreveport Times reports.
Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments Executive Director Kent Rogers says supporters are looking at some ways to preserve it. He says no one has tried to infringe on the corridor thus far and supporters are trying to ensure that doesn’t happen.
Interstate 69 would be constructed between U.S. 171 near DeSoto Parish and Interstate 20 near Bossier Parish. Bossier City Mayor Lo Walker says now that Interstate 49 North has been completed, this is the perfect time to drive interest in the new project.
“We did not want to compete with I-49. We knew the state could not support two megaprojects at the same time so we did not push our project publicly as much,” says Walker.
The state’s portion of the project is expected to cost about $29 million. Walker says there could be a high return on the investment if the route is built in Louisiana. Walker says the route would reduce travel time and have an economic impact because it would pass by airports and ports. The highway would stretch from the Canada-Michigan border to the Texas-Mexico border. Portions of the route have already been built in other states.
