BATON ROUGE - The University Lakes project has been progressing for more than a year, and yet those leading construction say getting to the finish line could take a couple more years.

On Thursday, project leaders met with those who like along the lakes to talk next steps. Posters displayed future plans, and project leaders guided conversations about the improvements and fielded concerns from residents.

Mark Goodson, the project's manager, says the lake will get deeper and healthier as the dredging continues. He says the next twelve months will also show some huge improvements, including bike paths and flood prevention.

"In a year, it will be well underway and almost finished with the May Street improvements,” Goodson said. “There will be a new bridge that will cross the channel connecting City Park Lake and University Lake with new bike and pedestrian paths, lighting and landscaping.”

Many of those who showed up to learn more left with their heads down. Jannelle Parker attended the meeting and says she’s not happy with how the project looks and is being maintained.

“I was surprised to see that the finish is 10 to 15 years from now,” Parker said.

Others weren’t so pressed, saying the change was needed.

“So far it looks like it's doing pretty well,” one man said. “It takes a while for all this to be done. It doesn't look good until the very end. So it needed to be done.”

The construction crews aren’t going anywhere yet. Construction phases 2A and 2B are anticipated to wrap up by Dec. 2026.