In the final days before Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, local, state and federal officials have described a dash to beef up security plans that were robust even before a New Year’s Day terrorist attack unleashed alarm. One of the most visible changes is the “enhanced security zone” around Bourbon Street, the site of the deadly ramming attack, reports the New York Times. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry created the zone using an emergency order, which allows law enforcement officers to search the bags of people entering the area and deny entry to anyone who refuses. New steel barriers have been installed to thwart other potential ramming attacks; the barriers were added partly out of concern that a new bollard system that was in the works before the attack was not strong enough to stop speeding trucks. No bollards were in place when the attack happened.
Even before the New Year’s mayhem, the security measures planned for the Super Bowl reflected the kind of vast, layered response that has become the default for an event of this magnitude — one that took months of coordination and drew upon years of experience. Officials have repeatedly sought to reassure residents and visitors by describing how they had re-evaluated and tweaked those plans after a man plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street. Fourteen people were killed and dozens more were injured in the attack, a mile from the football stadium. The blocks around the stadium, Caesar’s Superdome, have turned into a maze of barricades, fences and closed roads. About 2,000 law enforcement officers will be deployed this weekend, many in uniform, and others working covertly. There are also checkpoints, armed National Guard troops and drones and helicopters constantly hovering overhead. The event is projected to bring more than 125,000 people to New Orleans, including President Trump high profile celebrities, athletes and business leaders. “The biggest show on earth is going to go off without a hitch,” Landry said. Kristi Noem, the federal homeland security secretary, said that there were “no specific, credible threats” regarding the Super Bowl.
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