Natchitoches Riverfront Getting $4 Million Dollar Upgrade

In an effort to make it's scenic riverfront more accessible to the handicapped while at the same time bringing parts of it's infrastructure up to date, Natchitoches Mayor Lee Posey has announced a $4 million dollar plus renovation of the home to the Festival of Lights.  "We're an old city with a lot of old infrastructure, and our handicapped are not able to access the riverbank a lot of the time. I've been telling some of our people since I've been in office, 'Ya'll, we've got to do something about this.", Posey said.

Posey says the plans include repaving the asphalt along the riverbank, adding new landscaping, doubling the size of the stage and adding more public restrooms, and that the projected $4 million plus price tag will be split among state and private agencies. "The Cane Rive Waterway Commission is going to help us. They've agreed to $2.5 million of it. All of the electrical upgrades will come out of the electrical department."

The hope is that all will be completed by the beginning of next year so that they can hit the ground running for the Festival of Lights in 2017, and Posey considers this money well spent. "We have people who love to come to our riverfront riverbank anyway, and this is going to make it even nicer, so we're really excited.", Posey said.