Southern University in Baton Rouge is 'falling into the river' and needs $32 million to stop erosion

Maurice Pitts, the director of facilities at Southern University in Baton Rouge wanted to make it clear Monday that what he was saying about the campus’ worsening erosion problem is “no exaggeration.” The campus, situated on the Mississippi River is “falling into the river,” Pitts said. “It has become a safety hazard.”

Much of the land behind the Student Health Center has caved in and has had to be barricaded off for safety reasons, Pitts said Monday, as he gave a reporter a tour of campus. He said the erosion is a threat to human safety and that “historic oaks, architecture, and vital utility systems” are all threatened “unless action is taken to stop eroding conditions on the campus.”

During this year’s regular legislative session, Sen. Cleo Fields (D-Baton Rouge), who went to Southern as an undergraduate student and for law school, tried to get money allocated to address Southern University’s erosion issue, but, Fields said Tuesday, “I guess I just didn’t do a good enough job convincing my colleagues to just address it.”

The budget the Louisiana Legislature passed does allocate $1 million to Southern’s “Ravine, Bluff and Riverbank Stabilization Project,” but not only is it a mere fraction of the amount needed to address the problem, but the project is also listed as Priority 5, which means it won’t immediately be put to use.

Read more: https://lailluminator.com/2021/06/30/southern-university-in-baton-rouge-is-falling-into-the-river-and-needs-32-million-to-stop-erosion/