Arthur Ray Teague extension now open to drivers

It has almost been a decade since Bossier Parish leaders started kicking around the idea to extend Arthur Ray Teague south to Sligo Road.

"This is the biggest day for South Bossier I can ever remember," said Scott Irwin, City Council representative for South Bossier.

Now, that idea is a reality.  A ribbon-cutting officially opened the road to drivers Wednesday morning. Irwin looks forward to a better commute.

"For the first time, we're going to have two ways in and out of South Bossier. Until now, the only way traffic could move was highway 71 which is Barksdale," said Irwin.

The traffic along Arthur Teague went from bad to worse when Parkway High School was built a few years ago.

Police Jury President, Jimmy Cochran, believes extending Sligo and Teague will be a much safer route for teen drivers.

 "We kept speed limit low because we know our kids are going to be on it," said Cochran.

It took an act of congress to approve a land-swapping deal that allowed the project to move forward.    

"Some of that had to do with wildlife because some of this close to here is wetlands, some of it's protected by Wildlife and Fisheries so we needed to be sure we didn't disturb any of that," said Cochran.

Now, drivers are actually using it to bypass Barksdale Highway.

"Can just come down this parkway instead of turning up highway 71 where 71 has schools, has red lights, has intersections... This is a straight shot," said Irwin.

With local, state, even national governments coming together to get this project funded and completed, one lesson has been learned.

"We can accomplish much more by working together," said Irwin.