By T. Scott Boatright
The excitement Mayor Alvin Bradley felt was almost palpable Thursday night as he looked toward the future for the city of Grambling and Lincoln Parish as a whole.
That came after Grambling’s City Council authorized Bradley to work with the City of Ruston as to the particulars of obtaining funding to build a service road that would run from the Buc-ee’s on Tarbutton Road in Ruston to Sandbed Road in Grambling.
Sandbed Road connects with Garr Road, which runs from Ruston to RWE Jones Drive in Grambling.
“(Ruston) Mayor Ronny Walker has agreed to work with us to solicit the funds for the road,” Bradley said.
That would be Phase 3 of the ongoing Buc-ee’s project.
Phase 1 transforms the Tarbutton Road interchange from three to five lanes and constructing the initial service road leading to the Buc-ee’s property. Phase 2 involves plans to construct a two-way frontage road extending from the Buc-ee’s property westward toward the city of Grambling, focusing on expanding infrastructure for the 74,000-square-foot travel center which hopes to open in early 2027.
And Phase 3 involves extending that two-way frontage road all the way into the city of Grambling.
“Grambling’s portion of Phase 3 has been estimated at $12 million,” Bradley said. “Our Phase 3 portion of the service road would run from Dunn Road (Parish Road 111) to Sandbed Road.”
Bradley said plans for the path of the service road have not been finalized so he doesn’t know what properties might be affected. He is still working on that with engineering consultants.
He said he hopes work might begin by late this year or early 2027 and that it would likely take a year to a year-and-a-half before getting a complete service completed from Tarbutton Road to Grambling.
“First we have to get funding, and then have the engineers draw up plans and get those plans accepted (by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development),” Bradley said. “That will include meeting with landowners and figuring out rights of way and things like that.”
Bradley hopes for Grambling to get a 50% share of property taxes from businesses that would be constructed along the service road as well as sales taxes after such businesses are operational after expenses for the project are paid.
“Water and sewer for plumbing for the businesses would be some of those expenses for the project,” Bradley said. “So, tonight just begins the preliminary stage of what will be a long process.”
It’s a process that has great potential for the city of Grambling and Lincoln Parish as a whole.
Once completed, that service road could attract businesses such as big box stores like Costco or Target, restaurants and even the long-time dream of bringing at least one hotel inside Grambling city limits.
“The potential sales taxes. jobs for our citizens and economic development would mean so much to the city of Grambling,” Bradley said. “Getting hotels here in the city of Grambling is the shot in the arm we need, and I think that service road would be the catalyst for getting that done.
“I’m excited about it. Mayor Walker has been very helpful in this process. After all, he has a whole lot more experience in this than I do. He said he wants to help us get whatever we need for this to be successful for us. I think that what it is that if this road is successful, both entities (the cities of Ruston and Grambling) would enjoy it. It’s not only going to be Grambling that would benefit from this. Both entities will have the opportunity for economic development.”
