Despite a ban on all 18-wheelers from driving through the interstate 20 construction zone in Bossier City – it’s still happening. That’s led to more than 300 citations being issued against those truck drivers. The ban was put into place in December after a large number of accidents which caused traffic jams and construction delays. that’s the word from Bossier City Spokesman Louis Johnson. “So far, a[n] 18 wheeler or for a commercial truck, you have literally less than six inches on either side. And so, you have absolutely minimal room for error. And not only do you have minimal space, but the area that you’re going to find in bad weather, when it’s raining, that small shoulder is going to be wet. It will be slippery, and often bordered by embankments. So, if you hit that area the truck will go down, slide, overturn, and we’ve had several of those things happen.”
This is all happening at the I-20 rehabilitation project – a $117 million effort that’s scheduled to take two years to complete. But with 70,000 to 100,000 motorists using the highway every day, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development [LaDOTD] established an alternate route of Interstate 220. There’s also Highway 80 which is used as another alternate route. But Johnson says some big rigs just keep coming through. “Now, if you’ve gotten a ticket as a big truck driver that means that you have failed to obey the cue signals that you’ve gotten approaching the interstate, you failed to obey the cue signals that you’ve gotten inside of the area, which tells you not to go there. So that's the only way to make sure that the public know that public safety and the safety of our drivers, and those who travel I-20 is very, very important to us.”
The law stipulates that a violation can lead to a fine ranging from $100-to-$500. Johnson credits the close cooperation between Bossier City Police and Louisiana State Police for this enforcement effort.
