Tigerland patrons are frustrated with the status of the Bayou Fountain bridge, which connects the popular student watering holes to the residential areas where many student live.
The bridge, which connects Nicholson and Jennifer Jean Drive to the bar district, was closed in late November 2021 due to safety concerns, and the only part of the bridge left to complete is the sidewalk tie-ins. The city hopes to reopen the bridge by the end of July.
In the meantime, Tigerland patrons coming from Nicholson have a choice on their hands: walk over the bridge’s construction, or use the makeshift concrete bridge the city offered as an alternative.
The alternate bridge is a concrete slab beside the bridge construction, spanning just over the water from Bayou Fountain below it. It’s lower to the ground than the bridge, and patrons must walk along dirt to access it.
Krista Prescott, a finance junior, said she used the alternate bridge, but it could be a deterrent to attending the bars. Prescott went to Tigerland weekly for most of the spring semester, but slowed down when the bridge construction started because she didn’t like using the concrete bridge.
“It was an inconvenience,” Prescott said. “It was dirty and messy.”
When Prescott saw other attendees walking across the construction, she thought it was a smart idea but didn’t do it because she wasn’t sure if it was allowed. Prescott, who’s home is just a short walk from the bridge, said she was excited to have a convenient bridge back in commission. .
Biology senior Riley Hartsell has to drive Tigerland. She said it’s a hassle to come and go from the other side of the bar district off Brightside Drive.
“If you wait until the bars close, you can’t leave out the back way because there’s too many people,” Hartsell said.
To avoid the bottleneck, Hartsell and her friends sometimes park across the street from the bridge and walk across the construction. She said it was scary to cross.
“I don’t know if we were supposed to,” she said. “I heard a story about someone jumping off the side.”
Chase McDougal, general manager at Tigerland bar The House, said that he saw people crossing dangerously at the beginning of construction, but it’s not as concerning now that the bridge is further along. McDougal said he expects the construction to end soon.
“I can’t imagine the city would let construction go into football season,” he said.
Mark Armstrong, chief communications officer at the City of Baton Rouge, said the city waited until after football season to begin construction on the bridge to minimize the disruption to student life.
“The old bridge needed to be replaced for safety concerns,” Armstrong said. “We scheduled the work during the time when it would have the minimum impact for businesses and students.”
When construction began, The House saw a dip in business because it’s located closer to the bridge than other bars.
“We were the first bar when you came across the bridge, so all the Ubers let out there,” McDougal said. “With this alternate route, students getting out don’t always make the walk over to us.”
McDougal said that he’s excited for the bridge’s completion because it’ll make it easier for him to get to work. His usual route before the construction started was over the bridge.
“Having to go down Brightside is just more out of the way,” McDougal said.
Armstrong said the city hopes to have the bridge done as soon as they can.
“The new bridge will have a much longer life span, be safer for motorists and pedestrians, and will improve drainage in the area,” he said.