A New Orleans Senator’s bill to rename the I-10 the “Who Dat Nation Highway” has it’s ambitions significantly reduced after lawmakers discover the stretch of road has already been dedicated to veterans.
Senator Wesley Bishop amended the bill to call for three plates saying “Welcome to the Who Dat Nation” to be placed underneath some existing road signs.
“We’ll have that at the Mississippi state line, the Texas state line, and in downtown New Orleans at the Superdome exit,” Bishop.
The plates would be paid for by private donors.
Bishop says before filing the legislation, he was not aware that the entirety of the I-10 from Jacksonville, Florida to Santa Monica, California, had already been dedicated to something a bit more prominent than a football team.
“About sixty years ago (it was named) the Bluestar Highway in honor of our veterans throughout the entire country, and so I did not want to effect that what-so-ever.”
The amended version of the bill cleared committee, but not without some raised eyebrows. Winnfield Senator Gerald Long ultimately supported the bill, but not before raising questions about just how this kind of proposal makes us look to the rest of the nation.
“I’m gonna vote for this, but it seems to me that it really… I don’t know if this takes or gives more credibility to Louisiana.”
The measure faces more discussion on the Senate floor.
