Traffic on Interstate 45 began piling up in Dallas on Thursday morning as thousands of cars streamed north from Houston. More than 1.3 million residents in Texas and Louisiana were under orders to get out to avoid a deadly repeat of Hurricane Katrina.
Highways leading inland out of Houston were gridlocked, with traffic bumper-to-bumper for up to 100 miles north of Houston. Meanwhile, the Texas Department of Transportation announced a contra-flow traffic plan on I-45 that was called the largest in the state's history.
As of midday, all lanes of I-45 were going to be turned northbound for an 80-mile stretch stretch between Houston and Buffalo, which is about midway between Dallas and Houston. Mike Cox, a spokesman for the Transportation Department, said setting up the turnaround was going slowly because of the safety issues involved in closing the southbound entrance ramps of an interstate that is eight lanes at some points.
