BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments (NLCOG) and Bossier Parish Police Jury, will conduct a public hearing on Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 6:00 p.m., to discuss proposed improvements to the Bossier Parish East/West Corridor.

The hearing will be held at the Bossier Parish Courthouse, 1st floor Police Jury Meeting Room, located at 204 Burt Boulevard in Benton, Louisiana.   

The proposed project would create a new east/west roadway between Benton Road (La. 3) and Bellevue Road at its intersection with Winfield Road, a distance of approximately seven miles.

The purpose of the public hearing is to present the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and to receive public comment on the project.  The Draft EA for this project is available for public review at the following Bossier Parish public libraries:

• Aulds Library 
• Benton Library 
• Bossier Central Library 
• East 80 Library 
• Haughton Library
• Koran Library 
• Plain Dealing Library

All interested citizens are invited to attend this meeting to review the materials and to express their views.  Verbal comments will be recorded and written comments will be accepted. Written statements can also be mailed to Christopher G. Gesing, P.E., Senior Project Manager, Michael Baker Jr., Inc., 2600 CitiPlace Drive, Suite 450, Baton Rouge, LA 70808.  Statements postmarked within 10 calendar days following the hearing will become official public record for the project.

If you require special assistance due to a disability in order to participate in this public hearing, please contact the NLCOG by mail at Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments, 401 Market Street, Suite 460, Shreveport, LA 71101, or by telephone at (318) 841-5950, at least five working days prior to the public hearing date.