Jimmie Davis - The Man and the Bridge

The Red River is one the most defining parts of Bossier Parish, and the bridges that connect Bossier with Caddo are vital pieces of infrastructure for the region. There are five bridges in the region built to serve vehicle traffic, with two more for rail. One of these bridges is particularly infamous here locally, with several delays made to the renovation projects, only beginning in early-2023. This bridge, of course, is the Jimmie Davis Bridge.

Jimmie Davis, the man, was born in 1899 in rural Jackson Parish to a large family. His parents were local sharecroppers and farmers, and Jimmie himself was one of eleven children. He attended Louisiana College for his undergraduate degree and later Louisiana State University for his master’s, before moving to Shreveport to teach at Dodd College (1927-1942). It was in Shreveport that he began his music career, starting on the KWKH station, with his fame rapidly growing as a southern country singer. Meanwhile, Davis would pursue a career in politics, being elected as the Shreveport Police Commissioner and later the Public Service Commissioner for North Louisiana.

Davis’s early political career existed in the wake of both the Great Depression, as well as the rise and assassination of Governor Huey Long. Both factors radically influenced all aspects of Louisiana politics, and Jimmie Davis wasn’t exempt from such. By leveraging his musical career, Jimmie Davis was able to become Governor of Louisiana for the first time in 1944. Under his tenure, the state of Louisiana enacted the State Retirement System and a series of sweeping public works projects. His second gubernational term, starting in 1960, was campaigned on a pro-segregation ticket, securing the seat in a hotly contested election. It was during this second term that Jimmie Davis enacted some of his more contentious works: the Sunshine Bridge, the Toledo Bend Reservoir, and the Louisiana State Sovereignty Commission. The political legacy of Jimmie Davis is a mixed one, with infrastructural improvements marred by the stain of pro-segregationist legislation. His legacy, however, lives on here locally in the form of a South Bossier bridge.

The Jimmie Davis Bridge is the southernmost bridge in Bossier Parish, with the bridge in Coushatta of Red River Parish being the next closest bridge to the south. Built along Louisiana Highway 511, otherwise known as 70th Street or Jimmie Davis Highway, the Jimmie Davis Bridge services some 30,000 vehicles on average per day according to the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development (LaDOTD) website. A large portion of the land for the highway was purchased from then Governor Jimmie Davis according to the Shreveport Times of April 15, 1966. When a reporter asked state assistant traffic and planning engineer W. T. Taylor about why the land was bought from Governor Davis, Taylor responded: “‘Give me a minute and I’ll try and think of a logical answer.’”

Stradling the Red River, the Jimmie Davis Bridge connects South Bossier City and Central Shreveport. Built as a two-lane truss bridge, the construction began in early 1968 and finished sometime in mid-1970. While the Jimmie Davis Bridge is not the largest bridge in the parish (that honor goes to the Red River Bridge along I-20), it has served as a key link between the parishes. Therefore, it should come as no great shock that as early as November of 1994, there were calls for either additional lanes to be added or a second bridge to be built. In the November 2, 1994, “City of Bossier City Briefing to Joint Legislative Committee on Transportation Highways and Public Works,” it was stated that “Vehicle congestion in South Bosier is severe and unsafe. Second bridge or ‘widening’ a critical requirement.” This was considered the committee's fourth concern and was part of a series of short-range programs to be addressed from 1990 to 2000. Even over thirty years ago, there were concerns about the state of the bridge and the volume of traffic it services.

However, it seems as though those concerns about the Jimmie Davis Bridge are finally being met. Starting in 2023, the bid was put out for the second bridge, one to replace the 1968 construction. The new bridge, constructed right next to the old, will be a four-lane construction better suited to the volume of traffic the current aging structure receives. The expected completion date is set, according to the LaDoTD, for early-2027, with the intention of refurbishing the old Jimmie Davis Bridge into a cross between foot path and park.

Jimmie Davis, both the man and bridge, have had a long and complicated history. Jimmie Davis himself would die at his home in Baton Rouge on November 5, 2000, at the age of 101. He was buried in his home parish at the aptly named Jimmie Davis Tabernacle. The bridge, meanwhile, has a way to go yet. Between the new construction and the plans for the renovations, the Jimmie Davis Bridge will remain a focal point of local discussion and thought.

If you have any photos or other information relating to the history of Bossier City or Bossier Parish, the History Center may be interested in adding the materials to its research collection by donation or by scanning them and returning the originals. Call or visit us to learn more. We are open M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org. We can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter/ and http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/

Images: 

• Governor Jimmie Davis (Courtesy of the Louisiana Secretary of State)
• Heavy Traffic on Jimmie Davis Bridge in 2000 (Courtesy of the Bossier Press-Tribune / 26 Oct, 2000)
• Early Jimmie Davis Bridge Construction (Courtesy of the BPL History Center / 2006.034.011)

Article by: Jonah Daigle