BATON ROUGE - Heavy machinery staged along the closed May Street broke the dams keeping University Lake and City Park Lake separate. Now the two flow together. 

May Street was closed to pedestrians and traffic in early June. Since then, a lot has happened to pave way for significant changes. 

"It's connecting City Park Lake and University Lake which are the two biggest," said LSU Foundation President Rob Stuart.

Water rushed down a pathway through large culverts Wednesday morning. Stuart says City Park Lake has always been about a foot higher than University Lake, and this will bring them to the same elevation. The May Street project includes building a new road with improved intersections at East Lakeshore and Dalrymple Drive, and constructing a bridge with a five-foot clearance for boat traffic.

"So people will be able to go under it with boats and kayaks and sailboats with their masts down so the two will be connected, much improvement for the boating community here," said Stuart. 

The plans include bike and pedestrian paths on either side of the new and improved May Street, green spaces, and parking. The vision is to transform May Street into an area for people to enjoy. 

"While it will be good for bikers and joggers, it will also be great for people who want to use the water," said Stuart.

Plans include landscaping and restocking the lakes with fish. That plan will be a collaboration with Wildlife and Fisheries. 

Brown Industries plans to start driving piles in the next two months to prepare for the bridge.