SHREVEPORT, La. — The proposed I-49 Inner City Connector has received initial comments from federal reviewers, moving the estimated $800 million to $1 billion project closer to the public review phase of its long-running environmental process.
The latest status is detailed in an Oct. 16 project update prepared for the North Louisiana Council of Governments’ Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting and provided to BIZ Magazine Tuesday by Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Public Information Officer Erin Buchanan.
According to the update, the Federal Highway Administration’s Louisiana Division formally transmitted the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement to FHWA headquarters, where environmental and legal sufficiency reviews are underway.
“Initial Comments received from FHWA HQ on Thursday, October 8, 2026,” the project update states.
Project officials must now address those comments and receive concurrence from FHWA headquarters before the Draft EIS can be released for public review.
“Once FHWA’s comments are addressed and concurred with, FHWA HQ will provide approval for Draft EIS Circulation,” according to the update.
The roughly 3.5-mile connector would complete the remaining gap in I-49 through Shreveport, linking the existing interstate near I-20 with I-49 north of the city.
Public hearing comes before federal decision
Approval to circulate the Draft EIS would begin a significant new phase of the environmental review, including the formal opportunity for residents, businesses and other stakeholders to comment on the project.
According to the Oct. 16 NLCOG update, release of the Draft EIS will start two timelines.
“The public release will start two clocks: 1) a 45-day clock for public comment with a formal public hearing held no sooner than 30 days and a minimum of 10 days of comments following the public hearing, and 2) a 90-day clock for ROD issuance,” the document states.
That means the formal public hearing and comment period will occur before the Federal Highway Administration issues its Record of Decision, or ROD.
The ROD is the final step in the Environmental Impact Statement process. According to the NLCOG document, it identifies the selected alternative, explains the basis for the decision and identifies measures to avoid, minimize or compensate for environmental impacts.
The document says the ROD may not be issued sooner than 30 days after the approved Final EIS is distributed or 90 days after the Draft EIS is circulated.
The update also says NLCOG Executive Director Kent Rogers and board Chairman Dr. Ken Ward recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with key FHWA headquarters staff and brief members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation.
“FHWA HQ indicated that they understand the urgency to get the draft EIS to the public,” the NLCOG update states.
According to the document, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office also has been in regular contact with NLCOG, DOTD and FHWA headquarters about the project’s progress.
Funding remains major hurdle
Completing the federal environmental process would not mean construction could immediately begin.
Buchanan told BIZ Magazine Tuesday that the latest estimated cost of the Inner City Connector is between $800 million and $1 billion, citing the cost of constructing the entire project as an elevated section of interstate as well as current inflation.
“Of course, even with a Record of Decision, the challenge of securing funding for the project remains,” Buchanan said in her response to BIZ Magazine.
The Draft EIS includes a preferred alternative, but that alternative has not yet been publicly released. The environmental process has examined multiple potential routes as well as a no-build alternative.
Once FHWA approves the Draft EIS for circulation, a Notice of Availability will be published in the Federal Register. The NLCOG update says a notice also will appear in the Shreveport Times, announcements will be posted on DOTD, NLCOG and project websites, and notifications will be sent to people on the project’s mailing list.
The Oct. 16 update does not provide a specific date for public release of the Draft EIS or issuance of the Record of Decision.
However, it establishes that FHWA headquarters has returned its initial comments and that resolving those comments is the next step before federal approval can be given to put the Draft EIS before the public.
Once that occurs, the 45-day public review process and the 90-day timeline toward a Record of Decision will begin.