Posted on December 20, 2023
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The University Lakes restoration project has been in the works since 2022. Now, a new phase is ready to begin at the turn of the year.
“Phase one includes finishing off capping and landscaping the island that was constructed in the summer of 2022,” said CSRS Project Manager, Mark Goodson.
If anyone has ever passed by the University Lakes and noticed a lot of construction and noise happening in or by the water, it’s to help improve the water quality.
“Contractors dredged about 30,000 cubic yards,” Goodson said.
Goodson said phase one consists of flood risk reduction efforts by dredging City Park and Lake Erie. He also said since the project started, they have removed a million cubic yards of dirt from the bottom of the lakes.
However, by 2024, phase two A will begin.
“We will include dredging roughly the northern half of University Lake as well as College Lake,” Goodson said.
According to Goodson, phase two A is approved, funded and under contract. But Phase Two B is still waiting to be funded, if funded it would include “dredging the southern half of University Lake.”
Goodson said he’s excited to bring a better ecosystem to the area.
“Part of making the lakes a healthier ecosystem is making it a much healthier habitat for fish and other wildlife, so making progress but still a lot of work needs to be done,” said Goodson.
