Alternate St. Tammany Parish Hurricane Evacuation Routes

Public services, for those who are actually planning to evacuate if a storm comes our way during hurricane season. What I'm aiming to do here is to bring attention to some local arterials that can, in a pinch, also be used for hurricane evacuation. Since my knowledge base is mostly about Northshore routes, that's where I'll be concentrating. Not trying to slight any of you near the coast or anything, but there are others who could cover that region better than me.

I don't have maps handy just yet, so I'll have to describe them in an all-text format.

West St. Tammany Alt Evacuation Route 1: LA 25

(This route can be accessed by those funneled onto US 190 West through Covington. Recommended if going west or north.)

Destination: Tylertown, MS
Connections: US 98 West TO McComb, MS (I-55, US 51), Natchez, MS (via US 84, you can then use US 61)
US 98 East TO Hattiesburg, MS (I-59, US 11), Mobile, AL (I-65, I-10 East)
MS 27, TO Vicksburg, MS (I-20, US 61, US 80)

Route: From US 190 West (Bypass) in Covington, you will be able to continue on US 190 by taking a left at a stoplight. Instead, remain on the through route. This is LA 25. This route will pass through a few small towns such as Folsom and Franklinton. Follow LA 25 through those towns. Eventually, you will reach the state line. LA 25 becomes MS 27. Follow MS 27 into Tylertown. You can either use US 98 to head east or west, or continue on MS 27 North to head toward Vicksburg.

West St. Tammany Alt Evacuation Route 2: LA 21

(This route can also be accessed via US 190 West in Covington. Recommended if going east.)

Destination: Foxworth, MS
Connections: US 98 West TO McComb, MS (I-55, US 51), Natchez, MS (via US 84, you can then use US 61)
US 98 East TO Hattiesburg, MS (I-59, US 11), Mobile, AL (I-65, I-10 East)
MS 35, TO Batesville, MS (you can then use MS 315 Scenic to reach Oxford)

Route: From US 190 West, south of Covington (three-lane section), there will be a fork, each way taking two lanes with it. You will want the right fork, which is Business US 190 West. Follow Business 190 until you reach the intersection with LA 21. Take LA 21 North (a right). Follow LA 21 North to the state line. At the state line, LA 21 becomes MS 35. Continue to follow MS 35 until it widens to four lanes; you will have reached Foxworth at that point. From there, you can use US 98 to reach McComb or Hattiesburg, or remain on MS 35 North to head to Batesville or Oxford.

East St. Tammany Alt Evacuation Route: LA 41

(This route can be accessed from US 11 in Pearl River. You may not be able to reach it from the Interstate.)

Destination: Foxworth, MS
Connections: US 98 West TO McComb, MS (I-55, US 51), Natchez, MS (via US 84, you can then use US 61)
US 98 East TO Hattiesburg, MS (I-59, US 11), Mobile, AL (I-65, I-10 East)
MS 35, TO Batesville, MS (you can then use MS 315 Scenic to reach Oxford)

Route: From US 11 North, drive north through Slidell. Continue north until you reach Pearl River. At Pearl River, take a left from US 11 North onto LA 41 North. Follow LA 41 North for its entire distance, it will end in Bush and default to LA 21 North. From there, you can use the West St. Tammany Alt Evacuation Route 2 guide for directions/instructions. The destinations are the same.

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For the sake of everyone being able to get out, using US 90 East from Slidell to connect to I-10 East along the Mississippi Coast is not recommended by me. Mississippi needs their coastal routes to evacuate, too. Using the alternates to reach US 98 East can get you to Mobile, Alabama, though.

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St. Tammany Alt Evacuation Route: LA 10 West

(All three of the previously mentioned alternatives junction LA 10. Just turn onto LA 10 West when you see it instead of continuing north.)

Destination: St. Francisville, LA
Connections: US 61 North TO Natchez, MS (US 84, US 425), Vicksburg, MS (I-20, US 80)
LA 10 West TO New Roads, LA (LA 1), LeBeau, LA (US 71), Washington, LA (I-49), Pickering, LA (US 171) (ferry connection required, some sections unsealed)

Route: Get onto LA 10 West from either LA 25 North in Franklinton, or LA 21 North in Bogalusa. Remain on LA 10 West until reaching US 61. From there, you should go on US 61 North to continue west. If you choose to remain on LA 10 West, there is a ferry crossing after the intersection with US 61. After the intersection with LA 1 in New Roads, some parts are unsealed. (That means gravel, folks.) Proceeding westbound past St. Francisville is not recommended by me.

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There will be more of these as my research continues.

It's almost that time of year again.

NOLA.com - Contraflow changes will keep hurricane evacuees on I-59, I-55 longer

Yeah, this will improve things. Right. Sure. Keep people on the Interstate even longer when they're running for their lives.

OK, so people evacuating from storms will have a bit farther to go before being able to disperse off the Interstate. I-59 traffic won't be able to exit until Purvis, while I-55 traffic will be on there until at least Brookhaven. Either way, Contraflow will END! at that point.

Now, while this means Contraflow will go longer than it used to (just shy of McComb on I-55 and just shy of Poplarville on I-59), it will only delay the inevitable backup that will occur when they try to squeeze four lanes into two. Some of that could be averted by forcing one or two of the lanes to exit at that point, sure, but we all know that won't happen. It's also still not fixing the overall I-59 problem - the contraction of the mainline into a single lane near Meridian. Honestly. Do you think all those evacuees are looking to get off in Purvis?! Hell no. They're heading for Birmingham, Chattanooga, Atlanta and points beyond if they're on I-59. You know us, Mississippi - we're not simly looking to get out of the immediate area of the storm, we may as well head for the next large city. You got none on I-59.

The I-55 plan isn't so bad - you can get off at Brookhaven and head west to Natchez on a nearly empty four-lane highway (or even to someplace like Vicksburg or Alexandria after Natchez). Also, as far as I'm aware, I-55 doesn't shed a lane in Jackson. (Someone who's been on I-55 North, feel free to correct me if needed.)

What we really need is more defined and better-capacity evacuation routes other than the Interstate (LA 25 would be a logical one, connecting straight on to the Causeway via US 190), possibly even implementing Contraflow on these local arteries. We also need to educate our locals better on these routes.

I'll at least try to educate you in a later post. Better pack it full of fuel in the meantime.