BATON ROUGE — Construction has begun on a railroad underpass and pump station along Mall of Louisiana Boulevard as part of an ongoing infrastructure project in the area, the city-parish said. 

The construction marks a "critical milestone" in the project, which officials say will enhance "connectivity and safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists in the area."

The project, formerly known as the Picardy-Perkins Connector project and set to be built originally in 2022, is designed to provide an alternative route to Bluebonnet Boulevard, connecting Perkins Road to the existing Mall of Louisiana Boulevard, Ring Road, Picardy Avenue and ultimately to I-10.

To mitigate concerns of noise and neighborhood privacy, a wall will be included as part of the next construction package, to be installed along the new roadway behind the neighboring subdivision, Fred Raiford, Director of Transportation and Drainage for East Baton Rouge Parish, said.

At completion, the new four-lane roadway will include a 10-foot-wide shared-use path, which will connect to BREC’s Trail at Dawson’s Creek to be built later. The current construction will also feature a drainage pump station to mitigate flash flooding during inclement weather events