Shreveport residents will soon see upgrades to ten of the city’s most hazardous streets after the federal government selected the community for a Safe Streets grant worth more than $2.2 million, while the city also secured a court victory in a lawsuit challenging its plan to build a new data center.
According to KSLA, the grant targets nine inner‑city locations and one on the city’s outskirts that together accounted for nine fatal crashes and 65 injury crashes between 2019 and 2023. The funding will be used for a mix of new pavement markings, upgraded street lighting, pedestrian warning signs and, in some cases, reduced speed limits.
Pedestrian Joyce Blackwell, who walks near the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Louisiana Avenue, said the existing road markings were “very weak, very faded to the point that they are ridiculous.” She welcomed the planned improvements, calling them “absolutely necessary.”
Mayor Tom Arceneaux told KSLA that each of the ten sites will receive a tailored fix – “sometimes it’s signage, sometimes it’s striping, sometimes it’s construction,” and noted that a few locations will see speed‑limit reductions as part of the safety strategy.
The grant agreement still requires final approval from the Federal Highway Administration before any construction can begin, and the city cautioned that the specific list of improvements could change during the design phase.
In a separate legal matter, KSLA reported that Caddo Parish Judge Ramon Lafitte ruled in favor of Shreveport, rejecting a petition for judicial review filed by Mooringsport Mayor Tyler Gordon and two other plaintiffs. The plaintiffs had argued that the city council “unlawfully withheld public information” about the data center project.
The petition, filed in January, claimed the forces behind the proposed data center were “shrouded in mystery” and that citizens could not determine who would operate the facility or review the operator’s compliance history. The city’s response, also cited by KSLA, asserted that the council provided adequate notice and held a public hearing on Nov. 13, 2025.
Judge Lafitte’s decision means the city’s approval of the data center stands, though the case remains open for any further appeals. Both the safety‑grant projects and the data‑center plan are expected to move forward pending the respective approvals.
What’s next: Shreveport officials will work with the Federal Highway Administration to finalize the grant contract and begin design work on the ten road improvements. Meanwhile, the city will continue to implement the data center project while monitoring any additional legal actions that may arise.
