[StBernard] State Releases Contraflow Plan

[Westley Annis]

State Releases Contraflow Plan


BATON ROUGE, La. -- A Department of Transportation and Louisiana State
Police task force developed the emergency evacuation plan. Its main
components include: 

1. A phased evacuation that allows the most vulnerable populations to
evacuate first. 

Under Phase I, those citizens in the coastal areas, south of the
Intracoastal Waterway, would evacuate 50 hours before storm winds from a
Category 3 or higher storm hit the coastal regions of Louisiana. Under Phase
II, citizens on the west bank of the Mississippi River who were not included
in the Phase I evacuation would leave. Under Phase III, Orleans and
Jefferson parishes would call for evacuation of east bank residents. It is
entirely possible that the evacuation may never reach Phase II or Phase III;
it depends on the strength and movement of the storm. Calling for the
evacuation is the responsibility of each parish governing authority, but
those decisions will be made in coordination with neighboring parishes and
with state officials to ensure a safe, coordinated evacuation. 

2. A 24/7 Traffic Control Center that will monitor traffic, make any
necessary in-field adjustments and be in contact with the public, via the
news media, about evacuation traffic conditions. 

The TCC will be in Baton Rouge and will be manned by DOTD and State Police
operational specialists and public information officers. By being in
constant contact with troopers on the ground and in the air, the TCC can
received information about traffic conditions, make quick adjustments and
communicate those changes directly to ground-level officers. Public
Information officers also will be able to quickly give accurate and timely
traffic reports to the public through the news media. 

3. A new traffic management system featuring more and improved signs, better
use of law enforcement personnel and an improved/expanded contraflow
operation. 

DOTD is investing millions in construction and new signage to facilitate an
emergency evacuation. DOTD will have portable variable message signs along
evacuation routes, and will have more permanent signs by the 2006 season.
State Police is working with local law enforcement agencies to coordinate
traffic control during an evacuation. 

The new contraflow operation will go into effect after evacuations are
called for in Orleans and Jefferson parishes and will last for 24 hours.
These are the main components of the contraflow operations: 

	

*	All I-10 West traffic in the westbound lanes leaving the area will
be routed north on I-55 in Laplace. When that traffic reaches I-12 in
Hammond, those northbound cars will be routed into the southbound lanes of
I-55, giving us four lanes of northbound traffic on I-55 from Hammond into
Mississippi. The regular northbound lanes will be loaded with all westbound
I-12 traffic. Those vehicles will be routed up I-55 into Mississippi. 

	

*	People who want to go west (Baton Rouge, Houston) from the New
Orleans area have four ways to get into the contraflow lanes along I-10: 1)
a new crossover from I-10 westbound to I-10 eastbound just past the
Clearview exit; 2-4) loading points at Clearview, Veterans and Williams that
will allow drivers to go west in the eastbound contraflow lanes. The Loyola
crossover will not be used in the future. Drivers who access the contraflow
lanes will go west from Metairie/Kenner to Laplace on the eastbound side of
I-10. Once they are in Laplace, they will be crossed over into the westbound
lanes, where they can continue west. 

	

*	All I-10 eastbound traffic going to the Slidell area will be routed
north onto I-59. These cars will be crossed-over into the southbound lanes
of I-59, and all vehicles entering Louisiana from Mississippi via I-10 will
be routed north onto I-59 in the northbound lanes. This will give us four
lanes of northbound traffic into Mississippi along I-59. No I-10 traffic in
Slidell will be allowed to access I-12 during contraflow operations. 

	

*	All northbound traffic on the Causeway will eventually be routed
onto I-12 west in Covington. That traffic then will be routed onto I-55
north in Hammond. 

Other Tips: 

1. Everyone should develop their own personal evacuation plan that includes
where you are going and how you are going to get there. 

2. Traffic will be heavy during an evacuation, so be prepared for traffic
delays. Even under the improved contraflow plan, only 11 lanes of traffic
will be leaving the city (four on I-10 west, three on I-10 east, two on
Causeway and two on Airline Highway), and those lanes can handle only 18,000
cars an hour under optimal conditions. 

3. If you plan to leave, leave early. The later you wait, the more traffic
you will encounter.