Asphalt Overlay Project Kicks Off In Shreveport

A big asphalt overlay project kicked off this morning in Shreveport. Acting City Engineer Robert Westerman tells KEEL News the first streets crews are working on are Pines Road, from Buncombe south to the city limits, and Airport Drive from North Market to Grimmett. But there are many others on the list.

"Linwood Avenue from Claiborne south to 70th Street, we're looking at Line Avenue from Merrick south to Southfield, Hollywood Avenue from St. Vincent to Linwood Avenue," Westerman says. "We're also looking at Kings Highway between Thornhill and Holly, East Kings Highway from LSU south to the city limits, Lakeshore Drive from Jewella to I-20." He adds that work is also expected on Ellerbe Road from Flournoy-Lucas to Norris Ferry, and Common Street from Crockett to Cotton.

Westerman says there's no specific time frame for work to be done in each area. It depends on the amount of work necessary to complete each roadway section. He says the weather definitely plays a role in the construction, though. "If it's raining or if it gets below freezing, then it does have an affect to our project time," he says.

Right now, workers are focusing on the top 10 roadways in need of repairs, and there are another eight or so that will be looked at during a phase two of this program.

What do drivers need to be prepared for?

"The proper barricades will be posted," Westerman says. "Where they're doing the base work, there'll be more attention paid to barricades. It'll be more of an inconvenience to the drivers. Where there's already an existing concrete street beneath the roadway, the work they'll be doing there will be milling and then overlay, and that'll be less of an inconvenience for the drivers." During the milling, a machine will grind the asphalt surface off of the existing road.

He says typically, the last thing to be done is striping. So that's an indication that a particular area is nearly complete. Westerman tells us the work will be done during daylight hours, so there's a possibility it could tie up the morning and afternoon drives. The project is expected to take about four months to complete.