Transportation Companies Anticipate Greater Inroads
Published Jun 27, 2008
Trucking company Tango Transport is based in Shreveport.
Highway travel in Louisiana has been greatly enhanced by the completion of the Interstate 49 system, though greater inroads remain on the horizon.
Once served only by the east-west Interstate 20 corridor, Northwest Louisiana was finally connected to the southern half of the state in the 1990s. The interstate connects I-20 in Shreveport with Lafayette in the south-central portion of the state, providing more than 200 miles of uninterrupted driving for grateful travelers.
“Our company has benefited greatly from the completion of I-49,” says Chris Gorman, executive vice president of Shreveport-based Tango Transport. “Our trucks cover this stretch of the state frequently, and the interstate has made this a quicker and safer route.”
But Gorman and other business officials in the area still dream of bigger things. Plans exist to extend I-49 south and east to New Orleans and northwest through Arkansas to Kansas City, Mo. Some construction has already begun on these highways.
“It is important for economic development of not only Northwest Louisiana, but for the entire state, that I-49 be completed as soon as possible, giving us a true north-south corridor,” says Gorman, whose company has a fleet of 800 trucks and 2,000 trailers, providing dry van and flatbed services.
Equally important is the proposed Interstate 69 corridor, a stretch of highway that would connect Mexico to Canada, with part of that road running through the northern half of the state. I-69 would run south from near Minden to Shreveport, then southwest into Texas.
But the interstate highway system isn’t the only infrastructure that demands attention, says Todd Davison, director of marketing and terminal operations for Ruston-based Davison Transport, which moves petroleum products throughout the region. Continuing a tradition of building and maintaining a strong network of state and local roads also is key.
“It’s definitely important to maintain all of our assets,” Davison says. “And there’s always room for improvement.”
Story by Dan Markham
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