State contractor Benton & Brown began work today on the construction of a pedestrian crosswalk that will cross a section of Shreveport’s North Market Street.

According to City Engineer Ron Norwood the crosswalk will be located about one-half mile north of the Highway 1 & Highway 71 split and will cross Highway 1.

The project is in response to the continued efforts of Shreveport District A City Councilman Calvin Lester and Department of Operational Services Director Mike Strong who petitioned the state to partner with the City to design a way to provide maximum safety for traffic and for the citizens of the North Market and MLK Communities.

“This is a comforting sight,” says Councilman Lester. “Hopefully we won’t see anymore of the tragic and fatal situations that we’ve seen at this location in the past few years. The citizens of this community came to us and we were able to join hands with the state to find a solution.”

DOS Director Mike Strong says while the project has no provision to add lighting at the crosswalk location. “We will have SWEPCO inspect the site and determine if additional lighting is needed,” says Strong.

Crews are expected to complete the crosswalk by the end of October.