During this week's Shreveport City Council meeting, members gave an extensive update on what the city is doing to fix its infrastructure.

Shreveport's Chief Administrative Officer Brian Crawford says a lot of the 2011 bond projects have not been moving forward as quickly as city leaders had hoped.

"We're looking at every one of them. I think the difference is we're holding department heads accountable and subcontractors accountable for moving things forward," Crawford told KEEL News. "We put timelines for the completion of all of those projects."

According to a City of Shreveport news release, the total cost for current water projects within the 2011 bond package is $24.2-million. That includes the Amiss Water Treatment Plant rehabilitation, which is expe4cted to be completed by this July, and the Twelve-mile Bayou Pumping Station. The design for that is complete and the project should be finished in 2017.

Construction is ongoing to rehab the city sewer system, which will cost $21-million. Many sewer projects are in the planning phase and are expected to be complete in the next two years. About $49-million from the bond is being set aside for streets and drainage, with 20 drainage projects completed since 2011. Crawford said streets are on everybody's mind.

"There's $21-million in there from the bond projects. A lot of that hasn't been allocated yet," he said in the news release. "The projects have been designated, so in the next several months, a lot of those have finished with design. They will go to construction and be completed in the next 12 to 18 months."

The city council also voted in favor of giving national linen company Alsco a water and sewer discount. A sidewalk repair program should be done by mid-2016. City leaders say they hope to have the 2011 bond projects completed in the next three years.

"The citizens will see a marked difference and a sense of urgency that this administration has, and the mayor has, to get things done and kind of rolling up our sleeves and getting it taken care of," Crawford said. "We're holding those people accountable to get those projects done as soon as possible."

 

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