Engineers found a pickup truck could enter the crowded strip at speeds ranging up to 112.7 km/h - and yet city officials are now installing new street barriers that can only withstand 16 km/h impacts, according to engineering analysis and city bid documents reviewed by Reuters.
Those new bollards are planned to be completed by the February 9 NFL Super Bowl in New Orleans. The documents reviewed by Reuters, make clear that the system won't be able to prevent vehicle attacks at moderate-to-high speeds.
In selecting the new bollard system, the city prioritised ease of operation over crashworthiness of the new bollard system because of chronic problems in operating the old one, according to the documents and a source with direct knowledge of the city's Bourbon Street security planning. Bourbon Street is open to regular vehicle traffic for much of the day, requiring city officials to block parts of it off from surrounding streets each evening.
Since the New Year's Day attack, New Orleans officials have faced scrutiny over whether they left citizens vulnerable as crews were removing old bollards and installing new ones. But neither barrier system would have prevented the deadly attack, according to the source and the city documents.
Memorials have formed around Bourbon Street for the victims of the New Year's Day attack. (AP PHOTO)
Attack suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a US combat veteran from Texas, exploited another vulnerability in the city's security planning: He squeezed his 2.1 metre wide pickup onto a 2.4m wide footpath between a drugstore wall and a police vehicle, stomping the accelerator and ploughing through the crowd.
Jabbar died after the attack in a shootout with police. Federal authorities said he had been radicalised and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group.
The person with knowledge of the city's security planning emphasised the difficulty all cities face in protecting against vehicle attacks while preserving access to routine vehicle and pedestrian traffic, including accessible footpaths for people with disabilities.
The source said a barrier rated for 16 km/h impacts could still slow or significantly damage a vehicle travelling faster.
Jabbar drove a deadlier weapon than the truck used in the report's scenarios - a newer F-150 Lightning, a much faster, heavier and quieter electric vehicle.
New Orleans installed its first bollard system after a string of vehicle attacks globally, including one in 2016 that killed 86 people and injured hundreds in Nice, France.
The city initially chose a system that allowed workers to move the barriers into position along tracks in the street.
But the barriers proved problematic under the rigours of Bourbon Street - and often inoperable because the tracks became jammed with litter including Mardi Gras bead necklaces.
Because of those problems, the city prioritised factors including ease of operation and maintenance over crash safety ratings, according to the source and an April 2024 report from an engineering firm hired by the city to evaluate dozens of bollard options.
