SHREVEPORT/BOSSIER CITY, La. — Leaders with the Port of Caddo-Bossier and Bossier City turned on the ceremonial spigot to start the water flowing from a new $20 million waterline from Bossier City to The Port of Caddo-Bossier. Construction of the new waterline began in October 2023 and lasted about 10 months. The waterline will provide water to an undeveloped portion of The Port complex on the west side of Highway 1. It also means that current Port tenants will have a secondary source of water. They currently use the Shreveport water system. In case of any disruption, The Port has the capability of switching to the Bossier City water system.
“This is part of a process to prepare land on the west side of Highway 1 for future development,” said Caddo-Bossier Port Commission President Bill Altimus. “To attract new businesses to the area, The Port must have greenfield sites that are shovel-ready, so businesses can begin construction quickly. To do that, we need to have the essentials in place like water, gas and electricity. This is the first step to upgrading that area of The Port.”
The new waterline extends from near Parkway High School in Bossier City to the Red River. Crews installed a 30-inch boring pipe, spanning nearly 5,000 feet, over 125 feet below the Red River, ultimately connecting the waterline to The Port’s campus. At the same time, crews bore a separate line for sewage under the river, which will be capped and remain inoperative, until The Port experiences more growth.
“The Bossier City Council made the right decision to upgrade the city’s water treatment plant,” said Bossier City Councilman David Montgomery. “There is still plenty of extra capacity to increase water output. Simultaneously, by providing water to The Port tenants, Bossier City will create a new revenue stream for the city.”
The Port financed the project with a low-interest loan. It will receive a portion of the revenue generated by the sale of water to tenants and use that money to pay back the loan.