There's something new on Dauphin Street in Downtown Mobile.
It's a mobile vehicle barrier, one of 6 the City has borrowed from the Tuscaloosa Police Department to use during Mardi Gras season in Downtown Mobile.
When it's down, you can safely drive through. When it's up, it provides protection to keep vehicles from entering the area. Mobile police say it will slow a vehicle down substantially.
The City also has more than a dozen portable bollards that will be installed before the first parade.
Take a look!
Photo: AaronAmat / iStock / Getty Images