October 1st, 2002

House Appropriations Committee Approves $2.5 Million for Shreveport Projects

McCrery Sees Transportation Reauthorization as "Next Big Step" for I-49

(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Jim McCrery announced today that the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved the Fiscal Year 2003 Transportation Appropriations bill. Included in the legislation is $1 million for the I-49 North project and $1.5 million for the continuation of the City of Shreveport’s Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Deployment project.

"I am pleased that the committee was able to allocate $1 million for a portion of I-49 North. Last year, Congress allocated no funds for I-49 North, so this is a small step in the right direction. Next year will be the big step for I-49, when the omnibus transportation bill is up for reauthorization. Multi-year funding in next year’s highway bill is critical for the timely completion of I-49 North. In this tight budget year, the fact that both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have included funding for I-49 above and beyond the last highway bill’s funding level is indicative of the recognition by Congress of the importance of this north-south interstate," said McCrery.

McCrery also announced a pending visit by one of his Congressional colleagues. "In keeping with our emphasis on inclusion of I-49 funding in next year’s highway bill, the chairman of the committee which will write that legislation, the Honorable Don Young (R-AK), chairman of the House Transportation Committee, has accepted my invitation to visit Northwest Louisiana on October 17^th for the purpose of seeing first-hand the need for completion of I-49 North to the Arkansas line. While here, Chairman Young will also meet with representatives of the I-69 Coalition to discuss the merits of that important highway project as well."

The $1 million for the I-49 project will be used to improve roadway access between Interstate 220 and Louisiana Highway 1. Although environmental work has been completed for these improvements as part of the I-49 North project, this is the first funding for engineering and design and land acquisition for this area near the Shreveport campus of Southern University.

The House appropriations bill also provides Shreveport with $1.5 million for the city’s ITS Deployment project. Combined with the $2.75 million in federal funding that McCrery succeeded in securing for the project over the last three years, this additional funding will be used to continue to install a modern traffic control system on Shreveport’s major arterial routes.

The current signal system is more than twenty years old and uses some equipment which pre-dates the 1960s. As a result, the system is now merely pre-timed, causing delays, increasing pollution emissions, and impeding the flow of traffic. The ITS system will help to correct this situation, plus provide a green light preemption for emergency vehicles. In addition, a new system would use video cameras and the Internet to provide traffic information allowing travelers to choose less congested routes.

"This funding will help Shreveport continue their successful program to ease congestion on our city roads," said McCrery.

With respect to both of these funding items, McCrery cautioned that due to increased defense and intelligence costs, the budget outlook is still uncertain. "Clearing the first hurdle, though, gives us the best possible chance to have this funding included when the FY’03 budget is eventually finalized."

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