We're not dead!

...I just haven't been able to do much traveling lately. Shoestring budget and all that. But having a friend come in for Mardi Gras changed that. A little.

Anyways, UPD*TE time.

IH 10 - 33 new photos of I-10 eastbound and westbound in Metairie and Kenner, LA, between Causeway Boulevard and the MSY exit (Exits 228 to 223B)
Causeway Boulevard - 7 new photos, updated coverage of southbound, including the new ramp to I-10
MSY - 15 pictures of the roadways within Louis Armstrong International Airport.

Commentary aside from picture updates has been moved to my Tumblr.

That's Louisiana for you, folks!

State to restripe I-10 bridge exit (source: The Advocate)

For the longest time, I-10's Exit 153 (LA 1) westbound was striped as a right lane exit-only, center lane exit-optional setup. And it worked well enough.

So apparently someone at DoTD had the bright idea to get rid of the middle-lane optional and force all exiting traffic to use the right lane. (My guess is that they got stuck in the middle lane in rush hour.) And it SUCKED for exiting traffic.

Now they're changing it back to right lane exit-only, middle lane exit optional.

Moral of the story? Don't mess with a good thing if you have no idea what the hell you're doing.

This is problematic, though. All along, it should have been four lanes - two for westbound I-10 to continue on, two for exiting onto LA 1. No optional lane. Room enough for breakdown lanes, too. The problem is, we've only built to current capacity at the time an upgrade or new construction effort began, and at the time, three travel lanes and no shoulders seemed to be enough. With a surface route or a short bridge, that's less of an issue, but something the scale of the Horace Wilkerson Bridge? I think it should have been four lanes plus full shoulders each way all along, even if one of those lanes went unused for several years.

Now we can't. The bridge is too important to Baton Rouge's traffic flow. The only solution is going to require an upgrade. Perhaps it's time to start looking into realigning I-10.

Twin Spans Update

No pics from me on this one yet, as gas still costs too much.

The new I-10 Twin Spans are slated to be opened completely on Friday, September 9. Mark that day in your calendars - that's the day six lanes are open continuously across the lake.

It's long overdue.

Long-awaited (full) UPD*TE

Ok, that's done. Looks like I was only able to salvage a few pictures from last year's Idaho trip, and an entire camera is still missing with many more of the I-84 shots, along with the I-15/84 multiplex shots. Damn, damn, damn. I hope it's around here, because I don't envision myself heading back that way during my lifetime.

New:

I-84 (western): 56 shots eastbound from just west of Boise, Idaho to the eastern terminus in Echo, UT

Updated:

I-10: Added 13 shots along eastbound in and near Baton Rouge

Yet another minor upd*te

I made it back to New Orleans again, and as usual, the camera hitched a ride, falling apart as it is.

Updated:
I-10: 19 new shots of eastbound between the 610 split and the North Claiborne Avenue exit.

Minor UPD*TE

I haven't been taking that many pics or updating lately, but I have some very good reasons. One, I'm poor, two, gas costs too much, and three, I'm now living alone, and having to cover all associated bills. Still, I had to take a trip down to New Orleans last Tuesday, so I have a few pics from the trip.

New:

I-610 (Louisiana): Eastbound coverage between the split from I-10 and Exit 3.
LA 3021: A.K.A. Elysian Fields Avenue. Southbound coverage between I-610 and LA 39/46 (North Claiborne Avenue.)

Updated:

I-10: Added six pictures between Exit 228 (Causeway Boulevard) and Exit 230 (the I-10/I-610 split).

Revised:

I-110 (Mississippi): Revised album to reflect the truncation of Mississippi 15. Picture descriptions will be edited later.

Interstate UPD*TE

...Wow, it rhymes.

Clinches
Highways: I-910, US 90-Z, LA 3046 (Clinched new flyover ramp), Spur LA 41

New:

I-910: 27 snaps of the westbound unsigned Interstate in New Orleans and on the Westbank.
Spur LA 41: Ten snaps, mostly covering westbound. Includes a lazy oddity for the AARoads Shield Gallery, should they want it.

Updated:

I-10: Added two pictures of eastbound at the I-12/I-59 split in Slidell.
I-12: Added ten pictures of eastbound from Airport Road to the I-10/I-59 split in Slidell. Finally got the other pictures in order. Geotagged those and fixed descriptions of some older pics.
I-59: Added twelve pictures of northbound from the southern terminus at I-10/I-12 in Slidell to Exit 5A in Pearl River.
US 11: Added a snap of the old bridge in Slidell and four snaps of the northbound concurrency with I-59 in Pearl River.
LA 59: Added two pictures at the reconfigured southern terminus.

To-do:

US 90: Need to add coverage of eastbound between Business US 90 near Westwego and I-10/I-910/Business US 90 in New Orleans, including snaps of the Huey P. Long Bridge. Also need to add those snaps between LA 1 and I-310.
US 90-Z: Need to add snaps of non-freeway portion westbound between I-910 end and US 90.
US 190: Need to add some assorted snaps.
Lake Ponchartrain Causeway: Need to completely replace northbound coverage.
LA 3046: Need to add a northbound snap or two.
North Causeway Approach: Need to add northbound coverage.

End Of The Earth UPD*TE, Part 1

I finally took that trip to Grand Isle that I've been threatening to do ever since I got the Buick. Out of it, I took over 290 pictures. Some are unusable, though, so I'm going through what I do have, and updating piecemeal-stylee.

Clinches
Parishes: Lafourche Parish
Highways: US 51-X

Here's what I do have done.

New:

I-310: 38 pictures. Covers both southbound and northbound all the way between I-10 and US 90. Photographically clinched, both directions.
US 51-X: AKA Business US 51 in Ponchatoula and Hammond, LA. Six pictures of southbound between LA 22 and I-55/US 51 to start - however, I also went and photographically clinched it northbound, so expect more within the next couple of days.
LA 1 (Northbound): 17 pictures. Covers LA 1 North from Grand Isle to LA 308 in Golden Meadow.

(I've decided right now to split the album into northbound and southbound from the start, as I'm predicting both albums combined may have as many as 300-500 pictures apiece by this time next year. LA 1 is longer than Longcat, after all.)

Updated:

I-10: Added nine pictures of eastbound between I-55 and I-310.
I-12: Added seven pictures of the new Exit 60 signage from Friday. They're not geotagged or sorted yet.
I-55/US 51: Added 17 pictures of I-55 South and 15 pictures of US 51 South, of the concurrency between Exit 22 and LaPlace.
LA 22: Added eight pictures of westbound between LA 21 and Business US 51 South.

To-Do:

I-55: Got a couple of shots from northbound of the Exit 29 (I-12) complex and of the Exit 31 advance signage. Also got the brief bit of northbound between Old US 51 and Business US 51. Done!
US 51: There's a couple of stray shots in Hammond between US 51-X/190 and I-55 to add. Done!
US 51-X: Got to upload northbound, meaning a couple need cleaning. Damned fire orb in the sky. Someone please blow it up already. :P Done as it's getting for now.
Old US 51: The old road between LaPlace and Ponchatoula. I traveled it northbound. Wasn't much to see. Did take a few snaps, they'll get upped... probably last.
US 90: Need to add shots of westbound between I-310/LA 3127 and LA 1, and eastbound between LA 308 and I-310/LA 3127.
US 190: Took shots of eastbound between I-55 and LA 25. Need to sort the buggers. Also need to see if a shot in Mandeville or two needs updating. Done!
LA 1 (Southbound): Plenty of shots between US 90 and Grand Isle. Got to upload, sort and tag. (That'll be the Major Pain.) Done!
LA 22: Still got a couple more to add of the concurrency in Ponchatoula with US 51-X... and they got sunbleached. Usual BS. Done for now
LA 308: Took a few pics of that northbound, just need to clean them up.
World's Longest Continuous Viaduct: Yes, I actually do plan to make this album... call it a project, like the "Former LA 25" project that I still plan to do soon.

*****

One More Thing: I've thought about something that could be confusing, and I want to clear it up. Notice that some of my albums of old highways are named "Old (highway)," while others are called "Former (highway)." There's actually a rationale for that.

"Old" highways: These are highways whose former designation has been rerouted, most likely to a nearby new alignment such as a bypass, or to the Interstate or something. (Examples: Old US 11 (moved to nearby I-59), Old US 190 (moved to a different alignment nearby))

"Former" highways: These are truncated or decommissioned highways, either in whole or in the part near the section labeled "Former." (Examples: Former US 65 (truncated and replaced by US 425), Former LA 1093-2 (decommissioned entirely))

Now that we've cleared that up...

Stimulus Wishlist

Times-Picayune - Louisiana's share of stimulus pegged at $3.8 billion

Of that, $455 million is slated to go to bridge and road work and repairs. Here's some of the things I'd do with that if I was in charge of DoTD and wasn't hampered by pre-work things like environmental impact studies. (They're important, but not for hypothetical thinking.)

* Widening of Interstate 12 between Juban Road and I-10/I-59 to six lanes
* Putting gates and lights at all non-private rail crossings in the state
* Reconfiguration of the I-10/I-110 split in Baton Rouge
* Construction of an interchange between LA 1088 (Future LA 3241) and I-12 northeast of Mandeville
* Build a relief route for I-59 (designated as US 11) in eastern St. Tammany Parish (looking forward to hurricane season), utilizing the old US 11 routing if possible (it was good enough before) - US 11 can still cross the West Pearl co-signed with I-59 to save money

Now, obviously that kind of money might not be enough, especially with that I-10/110 split reconfiguration in there, but those are projects that I believe would drastically help traffic flow, especially in the Florida Parishes. That includes the relief route. I blogged last year about how hellish I-59 was, and I believe a relief route could at least make it a little easier to get the first important thing out of the way - getting the hell out of Louisiana when there's a hurricane coming. Designating it as US 11 just makes sense - it'd make that highway important here again.

As for the gates and lights suggestion, that's just my little pet crusade.

Mississippi UPD*TE

We've invaded the state next door, and came away with about 100 or so new pictures.

New:

MS 604: Pics of the entire distance northbound. Or was that eastbound? It's hard to tell when there's no directional banners.
MS 607: Only 2 pics for now, but this will quickly expand.
I-110 (MS)/MS 15 (Southern Segment): It's a mouthful, isn't it? Nine pictures from I-10's only child in Mississippi. Clinched it again, by the way. Also marked for MS 15 since I-110 is co-signed with it the whole way.

Updated:

US 90: Added a whopping 62 pictures spanning from US 190 east to I-110/MS 15, including pics from along the New Bay St. Louis Bridge.
I-10: Added 20 pics from I-110 west to Exit 31 (Canal Road).

Roadtrip Report: January 14-15

This time, I remembered to pack the camera along with me in the Buick, henceforth referred here to as "Dreamweaver." Two days, one taking me to New Orleans East, another to Abita Springs.

Among the upd*tes:

New:

I-510/LA 47: Covers almost the entire distance of Interstate 510's existence in New Orleans East, both northbound and southbound. The album is also marked for LA 47 due to I-510 multiplexing with it for 510's entire distance. 17 pictures, enjoy.

Updated:

I-10: Added pictures of eastbound from just past Michoud Boulevard in New Orleans East to US 190 in Slidell.
US 190: Added a new shot of the very old BGS in Covington.
LA 36: Album updated, info in LA 59 entry.
LA 59: Added pictures from Interstate 12 north to the end of the LA 36/59 multiplex in Abita Springs, LA 36 album also updated with multiplex shots.

...Finally, junkyard kitties.

Impending Baton Rouge chokepoint...

The Advocate - Project on I-10 to begin

Vague title, but the section in question is the one immediately east of the I-10/I-12 split in Baton Rouge, from said split to Siegen Lane, an underutilized stretch of highway (compared to I-12, itself seeing frequent congestion) that can still prove to be a headache. At only two lanes but servicing a growing commercial area, it's hitting on "underpowered" at times.

The construction should ease things through the area as each direction of I-10 will be widened by one lane. The overall project begins Monday and is slated to take about three years, costing $86.2 million.

Last month, a $100 million contract was signed for widening of part of Interstate 12. That work should begin in February, to widen eastbound I-12 from O'Neal Lane in Baton Rouge to just east of Pete's Highway in Denham Springs, and westbound from just west of 4-H Club Road to the aforementioned O'Neal. That project will last until around Thanksgiving in 2011...

As a result, Baton Rouge's eastern end will be a little trickier to get through for the next couple of years. Two alternative routes, US 61 (Airline Highway) and US 190 (Florida Blvd.) will see a lot more traffic as a result of both I-10 and I-12 seeing work. Seeing as few alternatives exist... good luck.

Christmas present turned Mardi Gras throw

Times-Picayune - New and improved I-10 is still months away

I wonder who screwed up here. The fix is most certainly not in, unlike most other situations across the lake. In this case, the asphalt wasn't started in time, so now it'll have to wait until after the winter months. Don't know why the hell they couldn't have surfaced it with concrete, but what's done is done, and we'll have to wait a few more months for the Causeway Blvd. chokepoint.

Rebuilding and redesigning the interchange between I-10 and Causeway is the next step in the process to upgrade I-10 to more modern standards and capacity. Yay.

Speaking of Causeway... bonus coverage!

Times-Picayune - Causeway storm-surge fix poses challenge for Corps of Engineers

Here, the idea is to raise the southern approaches to the Causeway to about 16 feet or so, as part of the ongoing project to strengthen the area's protection against storm surge, in this case by raising the levees. The trick is, the approaches kind of suck as it is, considering all the traffic that uses the bridge on a daily basis.

While there is room in the median to move the lanes around, and the existing approaches shouldn't have to be messed with much, it's still going to be the kind of headache that rivals most hangovers.

So far, the project is hopefully able to begin in 2010, sometime between late spring and early winter, but it's not possible to pin a clear date on it do far in advance.

Either of these projects will prove to be a nightmare for traffic for years to come. As always, I suggest going out of the way, mostly because I avoid the Causeway like the plague anyway. 24 miles over water with no shoulders... makes me nervous.

A few more photos

A trip to Slidell today spawned about 40 or so new photos.

New:
LA 434: Coverage of northbound between I-12 and LA 36, as well as some pictures along the concurrency with US 190 in Lacombe.

Updated:
I-10: Added photos from westbound approaching and of the new Exit 265 interchange with US 190 Business in Slidell.
I-12: Added coverage along westbound approaching and of Exit 74 (LA 434).
US 11: Added a couple of photos of the concurrency in Slidell with LA 433.
US 190: Added coverage eastbound through Lacombe and Slidell, as well as at the intersection with hidden LA 1089. Also, I caught a snap of an idiot parked on the train tracks at the intersection with US 11.
LA 433: Added coverage of westbound and northbound from US 11 to US 190, mostly along the Bayou Liberty Road and Thompson Road segments.
LA 1088: Added a couple of photos of westbound, north of I-12.
Former LA 1093-2: Changed directory name to reflect removal of all signage previously found in August.

Our collapse continues.

NOLA.com - I-10 East at the high rise could remain closed overnight

Imagine you're driving outbound on the High Rise during rush hour. Normally, that's stressing enough. The bridge is indeed very high, substandard, and steep, a relic of the design standards of the turn of the decade into the 60's. I've climbed easier mountain grades on US 50 in Colorado. As such, your car would hate you already.

However, tonight the bridge itself made the experience more difficult. You see, an expansion joint just popped up, shredding tires and oil pans alike for those unfortunate enough to be stuck in the middle lane.

According to an initial report from the NOPD, it sounded like the "finger-joints" of the bridge, which connect concrete segments of the roadway to allow expansion/contraction when the temperature changes, failed when some bolts broke off.

The High Rise isn't the only substandard bridge in southern Louisiana, both from an Interstate-standard standpoint and a structural one. We have many. The Calcasieu River bridge in Lake Charles is the most startling example - a bridge built in 1952 to originally accommodate US 90. It carries four narrow lanes and no shoulders. It, like the High Rise, is very steep. I'll admit, trying to drive over it frightens me.

The Pearl River bridge on the other end of the state is similarly narrow and substandard, with only two lanes in each direction climbing high across the Pearl. Again, there are no shoulders. It's another bridge that scares me to even attempt to drive across.

The Huey P. Long bridge in Jefferson Parish, carrying US 90, is at least seeing rehabilitation and upgrades now, but one bridge being fixed isn't enough. In a strong enough wind, you could actually feel the bridge sway. The Huey P. Long bridge in Baton Rouge, carrying US 190, is no better, although it doesn't tend to sway that I've noticed.

We all know about the trouble with the Twin Spans already, so let's pass on trashing them. Besides, they're actually being replaced, a rarity here. Pity it took a hurricane to get their asses in gear on that.

The Causeway, on the other hand, is fair game. 23.8 miles, two lanes each way. Although it has crossovers, you had best pray your vehicle can survive the trip without breaking or running out of gas. There's no shoulders along the entire stretch, so if you can't make a crossover, you're stuck in the middle of traffic. There's talk of adding a third span or widening the existing ones, but right now it's just talk.

The point is, there are a lot of these bridges around here in piss-poor shape, or just too outmoded for today's traffic and design standards. Something happened on the High-Rise today, but it won't be long before something else happens on another bridge around here. People will most certainly die... and only then will we start taking it seriously and doing something about it.

Post #100

Today, there was an accident on the still-under-construction replacement Twin Span bridges. A bridge girder broke, and ten workers plunged into the lake. Nine of them were recovered safely... but one died.

We sometimes forget just how dangerous this work can be. They're all busting their asses out there trying to get this bridge built as fast as possible, so that commuters have a safe option that can hopefully survive the next hurricane better. Although safety and technology have improved over the years, we haven't come along far enough to completely eliminate the risk of serious injury or death during a job such as this.

My condolences, and I'm sure the condolences of my readers as well, go to the worker's family.

...And it's done. Finally.

Times-Picayune - Fremaux interchange in Slidell now open



(Pic's not mine. -T)

Finally, damn it. It took them long enough...

Slidell: I-10 Exit 265 almost done...

Times-Picayune - New I-10 interchange at Fremaux Ave. in Slidell nearly ready

This was one of the places me, Froggie, H.B. and a few others visited the weekend before Gustav hit. It's a nearly-complete interchange along I-10 in Slidell meant to connect it directly to Business US 190. It's a standard diamond, with auxiliary lanes on the northern side along I-10 running to Exit 266 (US 190, a.k.a. Gause Boulevard).

Structurally, the interchange itself could be used now. Many final touches like fencing, however, are not done yet. Striping on half of the new Business 190 roadbed wasn't started at the time of our stop. Also, no signage is up at the interchange yet.

The interchange was supposed to be done a few months ago, but weather kept delaying it... and then the hurricanes came, pushing it back some more. Normally, all this delay would give me lots of reason to rake LaDoTD and the James Construction Group, who's contracted to do the work, over the proverbial coals, but let's face it. The whole state's gone through a trauma the past couple of weeks. I don't excuse them for the earlier delays. There's other contractors out there that get lots of work building and repairing our roads, and they get the work done lightning-fast. However, since the storms, what's more important?

It'd be nice to get this interchange finished and all, since it should have been done already. Thing is, there are more important things to worry about now, things that will likely require pulling in resources from elsewhere.

Screw the contracts. We've got new priorities now. Suddenly that elevated LA 1 project seems like something we need to get finished yesterday. Getting the new Twin Spans ready to handle traffic is another thing that needs to be on the fastest track possible, in case another storm sweeps in and cripples the old Spans beyond repair in the meantime. Another thing we need to look at is adding lanes to some of our most-used evacuation routes, either in a temporary or permanent capacity. Not to mention non-highway related necessities like modernizing our power grids and restoring our coastline. Let's get them done first, and let's not bitch about things that suddenly don't seem so important anymore.

The Mother Of All Rants

No cable since Monday, nowhere to go, nothing to drink and nothing to do but listen to the radio. Story of my week. So I listened. And then I listened some more, and as I heard optimism change to pessimism, pessimism change to desperation and desperation change to outrage, I felt the same.

Gustav wasn't the "mother of all storms" that Hizzoner and his lackeys across the parish line was claiming, but true, it could have been much worse than it was. Grand Isle went underwater, but everything seemingly puts Grand Isle underwater during hurricane season. Nevertheless, virtually everyone and their brother in southeast Louisiana fled for their lives.

In my last post before the storm, I posted about the bottleneck along I-59 at I-20. Well, there's another one that bit people in the ass. You see, Gustav was a Rare Event. There were two ways to go to escape that ended up working out: North and east. I-55 played fine the whole way, and I already bitched about I-59, but there's one other way out of town... I-10. Sure, you couldn't just stay on I-10 through Slidell, you'd get forced onto I-59. If you were on I-12 eastbound, though, you were able to transition onto I-10 eastbound just fine. A bunch of people did just that, or they took US 90 eastbound. Either way, people got to the closed I-10 East. You had smooth sailing until you got to Alabama. Some people were smart and turned onto I-65 northbound toward Montgomery, Birmingham and Atlanta. Others figured on going even farther east to Florida (which in itself is a stupid decision during Hurricane Season.) So on they went... and met the most unholy of all bottlenecks along the entire Interstate System, the Mobile Funnel.

Yes, the Mobile Funnel. You're cruising along on a WIDE section of I-10 and then suddenly it sheds all but two lanes. Traffic backed up all the way to Mississippi at points due to this.

Strike one!

Eventually, people got where they were going, but for one reason or another, people just have to hurry and get back. Maybe they're the working poor who had to use their bill money to run, or maybe they're the paranoid ones who are rightfully concerned about the property they left behind because the Bad People will come and loot it all away. For the former, the sky-high costs of fuel and lodging screwed them. Regardless, the most they could stay away was maybe two days. So, they turned tail once the winds died down and started their trek back, learning from their mistakes and making it back inside a day.

Then they got stopped at the Twin Spans. They got stopped at the US 11 bridge. They got stopped at the Jefferson and Orleans Parish lines.

These people sat for HOURS with no food, no water and no fuel. These people had children, elderly and those with less-than-stellar health traveling with them. They watched as the Troopers, Guardsmen and parish deputies got food delivered to them so they could continue to turn away the weak.

So, people called in and bitched over the radio. Eventually, the All-Powerful Lord Broussard and others decided to let those people in. Some did so Tuesday (Lafourche, who I actually give high marks through this nightmare), some did so on Wednesday (Everywhere else except Orleans). Even St. Bernard Parish, which had virtually no power and restricted the movements of the citizens via a 24-hour curfew... THEY let people back in on Wednesday.

But Hizzoner stood firm on not letting the people back in until Thursday.

It's far better to let the people come back and assess things, maybe decide if they want to stay away a while longer until all the amenities come back, or stay despite no power and sewerage.

Broussard, Nagin, Davis... It is not your call, it's ours. Fuck you. Strike two!

Let's get back to the evacuation here. The best ways to go were north and east. A bunch of the Contraflow plan pushed people west, though. West was not the way to go. West got slaughtered in this storm. Baton Rouge suffered the worst hurricane damage in their history, and even at the time of this posting, is still suffering widespread power outages.

And Baton Rouge caught only a glancing blow compared to other prime Contraflow destinations. Lafayette, Opelousas, Alexandria... all of those safe havens to the west caught a LOT of damage. There was even damage as far north as Shreveport.

Problem is, Contraflow is only one plan. It scatters people in all directions, even when we KNOW the storm's going a certain way.

Contraflow succeeded somewhat in getting people out, but it sent many to places that caught much more damage than the New Orleans area did. What we need is variable Contraflow. We need different plans that can be changed in the event that the storm heads one way. Right now, you can't go east if Contraflow is active.

Ok, in theory you can go east on I-10 instead of getting forced onto I-59 Contraflow North if Mississippi doesn't call an evacuation, but if the storm's hitting anywhere that would force Southeast Louisiana Contraflow to be active, Mississippi's calling some sort of evacuation.

Either way, you can't go east, which SUCKS when the storm's coming to the west like Gustav did.

Unlike the Mobile Funnel situation, I've actually got an idea for this, but it's going to require Mississippi and Alabama to play ball. Let's call this Contraflow Plan B.

• Keep northbound I-55 the same.
• Leave I-59 as it is in normal Contraflow, but allow traffic to remain on eastbound I-10.
• Traffic from eastbound I-12 contraflows onto westbound I-10. If you're coming from Mississippi for a hurricane heading west, you shouldn't be heading west. Sorry.
• Contraflow I-10 through the entire state of Mississippi this way. Traffic entering the Interstate from Mississippi can use either the normal east or contraflow east lanes to leave Mississippi, or use northbound arterials to go north. (And build I-61 north, for fuck's sake!)
• Entering Alabama from the west, I-10 remains in Contraflow until it reaches I-65.
• I-65 north becomes Contraflow for about 20-30 miles, all lanes northbound. All traffic from Contraflow eastbound I-10 (the westbound lanes) will use I-65 Contraflow northbound (normal southbound). I-10's normal eastbound traffic will have a choice - two lanes to I-65 north, and only two lanes to eastbound I-10 and the Tunnel. All other eastbound lanes will be blocked off!
• Normal westbound I-10 at Mobile will be forced to divert to northbound I-65 if they don't get off beforehand.

It could work if all three involved states (Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama) would play ball.

Strike three, yer out!

Regardless, evacuation went well, but repopulation failed because of the ego trips of all the leaders involved. Unless the roads are all under 2 feet of water or something, the people should be allowed to return as they feel it's safe. Instead of saying "You can't come back yet", tell us why we can't come back. We've got TV, Internet or radios. If there's a nest of live power lines down in Algiers, tell us this. If Metairie's under 6 feet of water, TELL us this! Don't just say we can't return, give us a damn good reason not to and let the people judge for themselves! We still have Katrina on our minds, being locked out for weeks, even months at a time. We're antsy because of the looting and such that occurred after Katrina. We're poor and can't afford to stay in hotels that gouge us half a month's earnings for two or three days and can't afford gasoline prices that have been speculated out of reach of the poor. People will not evacuate ever again due to this bullshit!

Every elected official in Orleans Parish, as well as parishwide leaders in Jefferson need to be removed from office. These officials dropped the ball on the final out of a perfect game.

That's right, the final lame baseball analogy... That's it, off to the showers. You're OUT the game!

Finally, a proposal. Feds, you listening?

STORM PROFITEERING

In the event of a hurricane warning, prices of food, automotive fuel and lodging shall be frozen at current levels in areas covered in the warnings, as well as likely destinations of the evacuating population. No establishment in these areas offering these items or services shall raise their prices in the event of an impending natural disaster, lest they face the same penalties as those prescribed by law for war profiteering. They may lower prices as needed to clear perishable stock, but cannot raise their prices past pre-storm levels afterward, although they may match pre-storm pricing if desired. This law shall remain in effect for 60 days after landfall of such a hurricane, although this period may be shortened or waived at the discretion of the President or a majority vote of either the Senate or the House of Representatives. The President or the aforementioned legislative majorities may also call for 15 day extensions of this period if conditions warrant.

Back from the road meet...

A lot of stuff was seen, including this on the way back:


Seems a highway once gone and thought decommissioned still exists!

Also, we're under a hurricane watch now. Expect that to escalate to a warning before long.

Gustav's exploded to Category 4 strength during the day. It's possible that it could go even further upwards to a Cat 5 once it passes Cuba, but landfall as a Category 4 in Terrebonne Parish somewhere. The Westbank is facing severe devastation, and the Eastbank may see it as bad as Katrina.

While out on the meet, we saw that I-10 East and US 90 East were packed full of traffic getting the hell out. I-59 was seeing heavier-than-usual traffic this afternoon, but expect that to explode. If anyone reading this is in Southern Louisiana and planning to evacuate, now is the time.

If you're getting out and coming through St. Tammany, going north, LA 21 is WIDE OPEN. It has a four-lane section from Bush to Bogalusa and can be used as a VERY effective evacuation route. This section can also be accessed from LA 41 for those going through the eastern part of the parish.

I will be shutting down my desktop machines tomorrow night once I have all the pics uploaded from today that are worth using. I'll still be blogging from one of my laptops unless something changes.