Mayor Mitch Landrieu and officials with Xavier University celebrated the opening Friday morning of a new pedestrian bridge over Washington Avenue.
The bridge was a $2.9 million project funded by the city and the state, and will be maintained by the university, Landrieu said. The bridge is near Carrollton Avenue, and allows pedestrians to cross safely between the two sides of Xavier’s campus.
“It is a wonderful sign of how important Xavier is to us, why it’s important to keep the students safe and why it’s necessary to help Xavier grow,” Landrieu said.
Dr. Reynold Verret, Xavier University president, praised the bridge as an improvement that was a long time coming.
“It’s an important part of the evolution of this campus but also for our neighbors in Gert Town who share this bridge for us,” Verret said.
Dr. Norman Francis, Xavier University President Emeritus, joked that Xavier had been waiting on the bridge since he first arrived and Landrieu’s father was mayor. City Councilman Jared Brossett joined in the joke, adding that he would have liked to use the bridge when he was a student to get to class on time.
3 million dollars really?
No picture of the bridge??? Just baldy?