TOLL BRIDGE - If you live or work in South Bossier or South Caddo Parishes , you’ve probably had to cross over the Red River on Highway 511 using the Jimmie Davis Bridge, a bridge that was built in the late 1960’s. The area has grown a lot since then and so has traffic. And while the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has plans to replace the bridge at some point, the process has been delayed for a variety of reasons. Back in October 2022, the head of the DOTD told a Bossier Rotary Club that plans for the Jimmie Davis Bridge have been pushed back to get new designs and proposals.
But yesterday at Shreveport’s City Council Meeting, William Bradford an attorney for an Alabama based infrastructure company, Tim James Inc., said James will construct a privately-funded toll bridge across the Red River south of 3132 and connect to Highway 271 to provide better access to the port of Caddo-Bossier.
“Those areas will see an influx of development, we anticipate both because you’re connecting two of the fastest growing economic corridors in our region as well as you’re shortening headways approximately by 25 minutes to get from that entryway to across the toll road. So we’re looking about a 10 minute drive time down from about 25 minutes,” Bradford explained.
In 2022, the Alabama company entered into a 15-year cooperative endeavor agreement with Caddo and Bossier Parishes and now is currently working with the Army Corps of Engineers and others to get approval for required construction permits . If all goes well, construction on the bridge could begin in 2024. Bradford said the $80 to $100 million project would create a lot of jobs for the area and once completed will shorten travel times and ease traffic congestion between South Bossier and Caddo Parishes. A one-way toll fee is expected to be around $2.00 per vehicle.
