The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development used their REMI TranSight model to evaluate the long-term economic benefits of the extension of Interstate 49 from Shreveport, Louisiana to Kansas City, Missouri. The northern extension of I-49 is a four-lane, divided, fully controlled access highway, on new location, approximately 36 miles in length, in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. The I-49 corridor’s principal purpose is to improve system linkage and accessibility in support of international and domestic commerce, as well as tourism. For a transportation investment, the TranSight model estimated the impacts of the initial construction and the long-term impacts that the project’s benefits will yield to the economy. Researchers discovered that the value to the state of Louisiana associated with extending I-49 from Shreveport to Kansas City is an increase of 5,687 jobs, $596 million in gross state product, and $1.26 billion in personal income by 2039 over the baseline “no build” scenario.
