In economist Loren Scott’s latest Louisiana Economic Forecast, presented at Business Report’s Louisiana Business Symposium on Tuesday, he estimates more than $1 billion in state road construction projects are slated for the Baton Rouge metro in the next two years. The largest project is the $567 million La.1-to-La. 415 connector, part of the broader effort to improve transportation infrastructure on the west side of the Mississippi River.
Two other major projects are each valued at approximately $41 million. One would construct a railroad overpass on La. 1 serving the RiverPlex MegaPark in Ascension Parish, while the other calls for three roundabouts along La. 44 near Interstate 10. Those figures do not include the massive ongoing project to widen Interstate 10 from La. 415 in West Baton Rouge Parish to the I-10/I-12 split in Baton Rouge.
This year’s forecast represents a significant increase from Scott’s previous report. Last year’s forecast put state road projects for the Baton Rouge region at $757.3 million for 2026 and 2027, led by $250.3 million for continued work on the La. 1-to-La. 415 connector.
Additional public infrastructure spending is also headed to Ascension Parish. The forecast identifies $18 million in Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority funding for pumping improvements and a $20.3 million project shared by Ascension, St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes to reintroduce Mississippi River water into the Lake Maurepas swamp.
The LSU growth factor
LSU is another significant economic driver highlighted in the forecast.
LSU employed 4,137 faculty, management and professional workers in fall 2025, up 9.2% from 3,788 in fall 2021. Enrollment, meanwhile, exceeded 44,700 in fall 2025 and increased 38% from fall 2019, bringing a growing pool of consumers into the Baton Rouge economy.
The university is also contributing to the region’s construction pipeline. Two residence halls totaling 1,266 beds across 650 units are under construction and scheduled to open in fall 2027.
Other potential LSU investments include the proposed $428 million entertainment arena, a $100 million Our Lady of the Lake sports medicine institute next to the arena and a planned $107 million construction management building. LSU had secured about $36 million from donors for the construction management building project, while the state had set aside $35 million in Priority 5 capital outlay funding.
“We’re very lucky we got this [LSU main campus], instead of Shreveport or New Orleans,” Scott said.
