there were people that didn't make it from 610 loop and 290 to the beltway in 12 hours...much less 500 miles to new orleans...there is simply no way to evacuate that many people given the present highways...the traffic jams were over 100 miles long. people sat still idling until they ran out of gas. i think next time they should evacuate the northern portions of the city earlier in the week or only allow cars with no empty seats access to the evacuation routes to cut down on traffic...it was really amazing to watch...maybe a light system like florida has where people can be warned when all lanes are heading out of town during emergencies instead of having to wait for the police to set up all the road blocks.
Yes I watched the traffic jams on TV until our power went off last night. I also talked to people who turned around after going 10 miles in 8 hours. Other people I know unpacked their cars and went back inside, having never left the driveway. What I meant by my other post was that there was nothing unusual going on and the traffic was horrible.
Can you suggest any local web-sites with current traffic info, specifically I-10 flow from Schulenburg or Columbus into Houston?
Much obliged.
Actually, I made that exact trip in 20 minutes at the peak of the evacuation traffic jams -- by just staying away from the 290 freeway and using the surface streets...
And the gas stations away from the freeways had plenty of gas and no lines, too.
If we had to evacuate, I had an off-the-beaten-path route from Houston to Dallas (and points beyond) picked out in advance that would have gotten us out of town without having to approach within miles of any of the major evacuation routes.