Mayor-President Broome Breaks Ground on Another MOVEBR Project

With the Goal of Increasing Roadway Capacity and Relieving Congestion

Mayor-President Broome and the MOVEBR Program Management Team broke ground for Midway Boulevard in June. It will be a newly constructed 2-lane half-mile roadway from Picardy Avenue to the new Constantin Boulevard, directly behind the Baton Rouge General and Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital.

This new road has several features the Department of Transportation & Drainage has been working to implement through the MOVEBR Program. This includes cycle tracks for bicyclists, sidewalks on both sides of the roadway with tie-ins at Picardy, Summa, Constantin and a connection to BREC’s Ward Creek Greenway, pervious pavement, roadway lighting, tree plantings, sub-surface drainage and raised intersections at Summa & Picardy for traffic calming. Several of these features are fulfilling the goals of the parish’s complete streets policy. Additionally, access will be provided to the Baton Rouge General via their rear parking lot.

Cycle tracks, relatively new to Baton Rouge, are similar to bike lanes as they both provide a facility for bicyclists. The key difference is that cycle tracks are always protected – either by vertical separation from the roadway or through barriers when they are on the roadway. 

This project is located within the Baton Rouge Health District and will provide additional connectivity for those who work in and visit the healthcare facilities. A key element of the health district is the implementation of a smart traffic plan which will improve the flow of people and vehicles through this often-gridlocked part of town. The inclusion of sidewalks and cycle tracks will help to increase walkability via the surrounding trails.

The project was designed by Stantec, and Boone Services was selected as the contractor. It has an estimated construction budget of $4.3M and will take approximately 12 months to complete. The event was attended by representatives from the Baton Rouge General Hospital, Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital and the MOVEBR Program Management Team.