C Spire, the city’s cellular phone service vendor, has positioned two COWs — Cells on Wheels — in the downtown area to enhance cell phone service during Mardi Gras.
The COWs, which are temporary towers erected on east and west Howard Avenue, are designed to support sudden increases in cell traffic.
Tens of thousands of paradegoers are expected in the downtown area for this afternoon’s Gulf Coast Carnival and Neptune parades.
The parades begin at 1 p.m., and paradegoers are already beginning to gather along the route.
Police plan to close I-110 to southbound traffic at Bayview Avenue beginning at noon. Downtown streets will begin closing as the parade time nears.
