- "As soon as they give that evacuation order, go ahead and begin the process to evacuate."
- In the event of an evacuation, DOTD will establish a detour route using Weeks Island Road, for additional Westbound traffic capacity.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"Make sure you have a plan to know where you're going, before you begin that evacuation route."
Hurricane season in Louisiana can often be unpredictable, but LA DOTD says the best way to combat this is to be prepared for anything.
"Our message to the public would be to not wait until the last minute."
With parts of US-Highway 90 closed to traffic because of construction, DOTD spokesperson Deidra Druilhet says this route is still an option, but there may be more efficient ones to choose from.
"You have US-90 in certain areas where it is reduced—where it is one-way each direction—but you also have LA-182 which is also a north-southern route as well. You may have some who may choose to go down into New Orleans and up where they can access Interstate 10 or I-55."
According to Parish President M. Larry Richard, in the event of an evacuation, DOTD will establish a detour route using Weeks Island Road, for additional Westbound traffic capacity. Both Richard and DOTD emphasize that preparation is key, to make sure that evacuation will run smoothly.
"As soon as they give that evacuation order, go ahead and begin the process to evacuate."
Some reminders for evacuating include the following:
- Any mandatory evacuation between Mississippi and Iberia Parish will generate heavy Westbound evacuation traffic here on US Highway 90 through the construction zone.
- In order to reduce evacuation delays LA DOTD will establish an evacuation detour route past the construction zone using Weeks Island Road for additional Westbound traffic capacity. This LA DOTD detour may close cross traffic on Jefferson Terrace Blvd., South Lewis St. and Center St. where they intersect with Weeks Island Rd. Depending on traffic conditions, LA DOTD may also close Darnall Rd. and Patoutville Rd. where they cross under US Hwy 90.
- Iberia Parish residents will not be able to reach locations such as Lowe’s along this detour when the detour is active and it may be difficult or impossible to cross US Hwy 90 in Iberia Parish.
- We are experiencing serious, difficult to clear accidents in this construction zone which completely block Westbound US Hwy 90. Such an accident during an evacuation would result in extreme backups on US Hwy 90 and heavy traffic using Iberia Parish roads as an alternative, making movement around Iberia Parish difficult.
- Fill your vehicles up early and keep them topped off. As in 2005 before Hurricane Katrina, fuel will be in short supply here during any evacuation using US Hwy 90.
- We could experience these effects even if the Hurricane itself does not affect Iberia Parish.
- If you are evacuating during heavier traffic, please plan your route early and consider these traffic issues. Give yourself extra time to evacuate due to these expected traffic delays.
- Please sign up for notifications from the Iberia Parish Information Notification System (Iberia PINS) using the QR code below. You can also find the QR Code on the Iberia Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness/911 Facebook page, or use the signup link on the Iberia Parish Government website. Iberia PINS is our best way to update you on developments affecting evacuations.
