BATON ROUGE, LA — January 16, 2019 — Today, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Gardere Lane Pedestrian Improvements project. The project will include approximately 6,000 feet of 5-foot-wide sidewalk along the east side of Gardere Lane from Nicholson Highway to Burbank Drive.

“These sidewalks serve as a means of transit for community residents. Deep drainage ditches and isolated, deteriorating patches of sidewalk have provided no safe passage for residents to access schools, public transit, public recreational facilities, and places of employment for far too long,” said Mayor Broome.

KCR Contractors, LLC, has been awarded the contract to make the appropriate updates and expansions. The construction cost of the project is $663,891.37.

“This project is vital to ensuring the safety of our residents and the progression of this community,” said Mayor Broome. “Today’s groundbreaking project contributes to traffic mitigation efforts while providing alternative means of mobility, expanding access, and improving the overall quality of life for the citizens of the Gardere area and East Baton Rouge Parish.”

The project will be broken up into three phases, with the final project completed in June of this year. All ADA required amenities are incorporated into the designs to accommodate all users of the facility.