Security barriers at Bourbon Street were in the process of being replaced when a driver killed 10 killed in the New Orleans terror attack in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
The barriers – removable stainless-steel bollards that are made to be locked on Bourbon Street – had been set up in 2017 and located near where the incident had taken place. They were down on New Year’s Eve with new barriers being inserted which will be in the city ready for the Super Bowl – which New Orleans will also play host too.
The man, who has now been indentified, drove a vehicle at high speed into a crowd of pedestrians in New Orleans bustling French Quarter district at 3:15 a.m. Wednesday along Bourbon Street. A large amount of people had been in the area celebrating New Year’s Eve, as well as being present for the Sugar Bowl being played the following night. It has recently been confirmed that the driver was killed in a shootout with police.
The plan to remove the bollards for newer ones had begun in November, with the process set to last three months, up until the Super Bowl on Feb. 9. These works are still ongoing, with a city press release not providing any further detail on how far along they are.
Worryingly though, Bob Simms, who formerly oversaw security for the French Quarter District in New Orleans, has stated that the barriers that are currently in place were ‘ineffective’.
“They were very ineffective. The track was always full of crap; beads and doubloons and God knows what else. Not the best idea, Simms said. “Eventually everybody realized the need to replace them. Theyre in the process of doing that, but the new ones are not yet operational.”
He added: “They’re doing it in time for the Super Bowl… It’s ironic in a way.”
These initial bollards were first put in place before NBA All-Star Game in 2017 to prevent such terrorist attacks, and not allowing vehicles to get too close to Bourbon Street.
Official and authorities remain at the scene with further news continuing to break in recent hours, with the Sugar Bowl Committee and New Orleans Police coming together and confirming that The Sugar Bowl will go ahead on Wednesday evening, with Georgia set to face Notre Dame at the Superdome.
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