BATON ROUGE - The University Lakes are supposed to be a point of pride in Baton Rouge; they're clearly visible from the interstate and often the first thing people see when traveling from out of town. Right now, however, they're a mess. 

On one side of the lake, dozens of rotten fish with insects eating the remains can be seen baking in the hot sun, leaving behind a foul stench of rotting fish. Green algae and muck cover most of City Park Lake's surface.

Franklin Foil is the state senator for East Baton Rouge. He says the current condition of the lakes is terrible. 

"You walk around parts of it where it's almost dried up and fish are dead, there's algae everywhere, it just is an eyesore," Foil said. 

Foil says the University Lakes Project is supposed to start this summer. The project, which will cost around $50 million and last about two to three years, will hopefully improve the quality of the lakes. 

Foil is hoping work on the project will start in two weeks. 

"I realize there are certain things in place as far as getting contracts in place, but this has been a long time coming. The money is there and I'm going to keep pushing the project managers to get started as soon as possible," Foil said. 

Foil says he wants to make sure the project gets done correctly and is hoping residents will be patient. 

"We also need to make sure that we do it right, even though I would like it to happen tomorrow, if we need a little bit more time to make sure we get all the proper people in place then I'm for it," Foil said

Foil is optimistic that progress will happen soon, and the awful sights and smells of dead fish will be a thing of the past.