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New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu says after a $700,000 project, the "Gateway to the City" now looks great.
"It's great to be here, and I am very excited about this particular day."
"I know this is just a train trestle, but it was really important when we began to plan for the Super Bowl."
"The Gateway to New Orleans is actually clean."
The mayor credited the state and the Young Leadership Council for teaming up to get the project done when many people said there was no way it would be ready in time.
Paul Valteu with the Super Bowl Host Committee explained it in terms he said his mother used years ago.
"When I was a young man, and I went out to look for a job she used to say, 'Son... you only get one chance to make a first impression.'"
Valteu said people will no longer be turned off by the eyesore they would first see as they drove into New Orleans.
"We have a great one chance to make a great first impression... and it's a far site better than citizens had before."
He thanked the YLC for spearheading the effort.
New signs now welcome visitors and proclaim "Proud to Call It Home."
