Although Hurricane Rita was still about 24 hours from making landfall
Friday morning, high winds and heavy rains were already causing major
transportation problems throughout Louisiana
and Texas.
Parts of New Orleans had already succumbed to the approaching storm's power. Steady rain and 20 to
30 mph winds broke through a 30-foot section of the Industrial Canal
levee that had been repaired after Katrina.
According to The Associated Press,
the city's 9th Ward - one of the hardest-hit areas in Katrina's wake - was
already waist-deep with water by midday Friday, and the water was rising up at
a rate of three inches per minute.
"Our worst fears came true," Maj. Barry Guidry of the Georgia National
Guard told The AP. "We have three
significant breaches in the levy, and the water is rising rapidly. At daybreak
I found substantial breaks, and they've grown larger."
Guidry said that he doubted any residents still in the area where the
flooding occurred.
The flooding and expected storm damage arrived before Louisiana could finish its recovery effort
from Katrina. Because of this, very specific evacuation routes have been
developed for the state. Maps of these routes, along with up-to-date
information on road-closings, can be found at the following Web sites:
Road updates can also be obtained by calling:
- Texas:
1-800-452-9292
- Louisiana: 1-800-469-4828
- Mississippi: (601) 987-1212
In light of the growing threat from Hurricane
Rita, most road improvements in Louisiana
in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina have been put on hold. All re-entry
points into Orleans,
St. Bernard and Plaquemine Parish have been suspended.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin had earlier made
the decision to allow the public to begin entering the city this past weekend,
which was met with controversy from federal, state and local officials who
questioned the safety of such a move.
The following is the complete list of
roadways that remain closed or are set up with checkpoints throughout Louisiana as of
Wednesday morning, Sept. 21:
- Interstate 10 Twinspan
Bridge;
- Interstate 10 west at Oak
Harbor exit;
- U.S. 61 south at Orleans/Jefferson Parish line;
- U.S. 90 at the Orleans Parish line;
- River Road at the Orleans Parish line;
- Louisiana Highway
57 at the Boudreaux Channel;
- Louisiana Highway
1 at the Leon Theriot Floodgates;
- Louisiana Highway 1 at Port Fourchon to Grand Island;
- Louisiana Highway
82 from Louisiana Highway27 to Louisiana
Highway3147;
- Louisiana
Highway27 from Interstate 10 to Louisiana
Highway14;
- Louisiana Highway
82 from Deep Bayou Road
to Teal Street;
- Louisiana Highway 433 approximately three miles south of U.S. 190
at the Bayou
Liberty Bridge;
and
- Louisiana Highway 11 south of Slidell.
In southern Mississippi, road conditions
have improved dramatically. With the exception of U.S. 90, which runs through
the state from Alabama to Louisiana, all roadways are open in the
state. However, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety is still urging
caution as hurricane cleanup carries on throughout the area.
Meanwhile, in Alabama, the only roads that remain closed
are Alabama Highway 44 east of U.S. 78, which was shut down due to a landslide
caused by Katrina, and Alabama Highway 193, which was flooded by Rita's tidal
surge. However, a number of roads in Mobile, Sumter, Choctaw, Marengo, Tuscaloosa, Washington,
Clarke, Baldwin and Marion
counties remain under advisories as debris cleanup and roadway repair
continues.
- By Aaron
Ladage, staff writer
aaron_ladage@landlinemag.com
