People enjoy the afternoon weather along University Lake from Milford Wampold Memorial Park, Thursday, May 4, 2023, near LSU in Baton Rouge, La. The LSU Lakes project is one of the most high-profile public projects in Baton Rouge. The project is well underway, but it doesn’t look how many people imagined it would .
.. yet.
This project was created as a result of the 2016 master planning process sponsored by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation which called for path improvements, deepening the lakes — and creating and preserving the six, man-made lakes near LSU. Thousands of people use the lakes and the surrounding areas recreationally weekly, and the project plans to upgrade the public space to match that amount of use. A walker and her canine companions cross Dalrymple Drive near the Interstate 10 overpass as they go for an evening walk along City Park Lake, Thursday, May 4, 2023, near LSU in Baton Rouge, La.
“Ultimately the goal is to make them [the lakes] healthy, make them beautiful — and make them safe,” said John Spain, senior adviser to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. Construction on . Phase 1, scheduled to be completed by the end of July is 95% completed as of July 31 according to Mark Goodson, principal and resilience practice lead of CSRS, one of the lead project advisers.
This phase planned to tackle the dredging of City Park Lake and Lake Erie (the two lakes owned by the city of Baton Rouge) and then create living shorelines along those lakes. Other components include improving the weir — a structure that holds back the water to create the majority of the University Lakes — at Stanford Avenue and making improvements to May Street. According to Goodson, some improvements to the weir are complete, and the city can now actively manage water levels in the lake.
Goodson said the weir can hold more water now, and it can also be used to draw down water levels ahead of a big storm, reducing flood risks. Phase one of the LSU lakes dredging project continues after starting this past summer on Sunday, October 8, 2023 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They’re looking for a contractor for the May Street improvements, Goodson said.
They expect to start construction in September. The team plans to hydraulically connect City Park Lake to University Lake. This would allow for kayakers and paddle boarders to paddle between the two lakes.
Phase 1’s living shorelines are in progress. The new shorelines will be landscaped with native plants which will help slow down and clean runoff before it enters the lakes. Goodson expects the installation of landscaping by the first of next year.
According to Brian Heimann, it’s too early to see environmental impacts yet. Inland Fisheries Biologist for the area around Baton Rouge, the process of deepening the lakes is not always good for fisheries. Plus, there is big equipment and construction that is ongoing that constantly stirs and re-stirs sediment.
Things haven’t really settled yet. Phase one of the LSU lakes dredging project continues after starting this past summer on Sunday, October 8, 2023 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. But these things take time.
“You got to go through some growing pains,” he said. Deepening the lake is an improvement, he said, but from a water quality and fisheries standpoint, he doesn’t expect to see measurable impact until the project is done and the lakes can regain some kind of equilibrium. Phase 2A, which just started construction, includes deepening and dredging College Lake and approximately half of University Lake then constructing living shorelines.
Phase 2B just received capital outlay funding in the last legislative session, and it will finish deepening University Lake. According to Goodson, Phase 2A will go through February of next year, and the contractor, Sevenson Environmental Services, will continue work directly afterward to tackle Phase 2B. A great egret readies to throw back a snack caught in the shallow shadows of Campus Lake, Tuesday, August 6, 2024, on the campus of LSU in Baton Rouge, La.
Phases 1-2B are slated to be completed by the end of 2026. But the master plan still has a ways to go, especially in terms of developing public spaces, the more immediately visible part of the plan for the public. That part of the plan hasn’t been funded yet.
“The other stuff that the master plan calls for will hopefully get done,” Goodson said. “But just as funding becomes available.” With a hint of fall in the air, the lakes near LSU are a great place for walking.
“Take comfort in the idea that the appropriate people with the expertise are involved in a process that’s going to make them healthy, usable and sustainable,” said Spain, the BRAF adviser. The challenge of this kind of project, Goodson said, is that the improvements aren’t always obvious to the public. “The lakes won’t look much different at the end of this year,” he explained.
“The benefits of the project probably won’t be truly appreciated until five or 10 or even 20 years down the road when the lakes are still healthy and not having to be dredged and improved like they are today because of what we're doing now.” Still, by the end of 2025, people can expect to see improvements to May Street. Construction won’t be completed, but it’ll be chugging along.
The new landscaping will be installed at City Park Lake and the dredging at University Lake will be well underway. University Lake is seen dried up and void of water near LSU, Wednesday, September 20, 2023, in Baton Rouge, La. As construction and dredging have progressed, rumors and speculation have abounded.
Here are answers to some questions that have been floating around: A: No. There will be dedicated pedestrian paths on the bridge, but it will still be open to vehicles. A: No, the dredging operation actually needs water, so that would have been counterintuitive.
The drought last year led to an exposed lake bottom and a lot of vegetation grew as a result. The contractors are clearing out the vegetation now, but that wasn’t initially part of the plan. A: As the lakes settle, the shorelines grow and funding becomes available, sidewalks are expected to be constructed.
For now, we wait. The University Lakes Project is holding a public meeting from 6 to 7 p.m.
on Aug. 15 at the at 3796 Nicholson Drive to update community members on the progress that has been made and give people the opportunity to ask additional questions..
