Alabama's I-65 Evacuation Plan Ready for Isidore

September 25, 2002 Special Emergency Report From al.com

By GINNY MacDONALD Alabama officials are monitoring Tropical Storm Isidore to determine if Interstate 65 needs to be turned into an evacuation route for Alabama's coastal counties.

Weather forecasters Tuesday predicted a low to medium chance the storm would make landfall in Mobile or Baldwin counties.

The Alabama Department of Transportation's evacuation plan for the two counties would use all lanes of I-65 from Mobile to Montgomery for northbound traffic.

Across the Gulf Coast, meanwhile, resident boarded up homes and businesses and headed inland.

Grand Isle, an island resort south of New Orleans that has just one two-lane escape route, was placed under a mandatory evacuation order at midday Tuesday. Many of the town's 1,500 residents were already on their way out.

"We're leaving. I'm getting my boat ready now," said Leland McMaster, general manager at Poche's Cabins and Apartments.

The storm, which left two people dead and 300,000 homeless in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, moved back over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and was expected to hit Louisiana or Mississippi with hurricane force by late tonight or Thursday.

Its sustained winds, which had fallen to well below hurricane strength of 74 mph as the storm moved over land, rose to 60 mph and were expected to strengthen.

Emergency officials in Florida also were watching another tropical storm, Lili, which has killed three people in the Caribbean and could strike the southern part of the state over the weekend.

In Alabama, State Department of Transportation, Emergency Management and Public Safety officials met Tuesday to finalize evacuation plans.

Reversing lanes of the southbound lanes would begin between the Delta River Bridge and the interstate's interchange with Alabama 225 in Mobile County and would end at the U.S. 80 west exit, south of Montgomery.

Twenty interchanges would be affected by the lane reversal.

Four crossovers along the route would allow vehicles to move between the north and southbound lanes to equalize traffic flow.

Crossovers would be set up at Alabama 21 near Atmore, Alabama 113 near Flomaton, Alabama 55 near Georgiana and Alabama 10 near Greenville.

"The plan is somewhat complicated because at every interchange there is the possibility that someone could get on and go in the wrong direction. We plan to keep that from happening," state Transportation Director Paul Bowlin said.

Bowlin said the southbound lanes could be shut down quickly because troopers would make all southbound traffic leave the interstate at the next exit. The exits would then be barricaded and patrolled by highway workers and state troopers.

Travelers taken off the interstate would have the option of finding another route south or turning back north, Bowlin said.

If it becomes necessary, state highway officials will closely watch the evacuation of Perdido Key in south Baldwin County. If an evacuation is called for, this would be the first time traffic would use Alabama 59 as a four-lane highway. It was widened two years ago.

"The plan may not be a perfect situation for south Baldwin, but it is better than it has ever been before," Bowlin said.

Traffic would flow as normal on U.S. 31, also an evacuation route. State trooper helicopters would monitor its traffic.

"We are tracking the hurricane every hour," Bowlin said. "We haven't moved any equipment, but every highway division between Montgomery and Mobile is involved and the interstate can be rerouted fairly quickly. We are ready to act immediately."

In other developments, the Birmingham chapter of the American Red Cross will open its hurricane watch center today at 8 a.m. in the Southbrook Village shopping center in Alabaster on Alabama 119. Volunteers and staff have been placed on alert to provide emergency services and shelters are ready to open if needed.

The Red Cross watch team monitors hurricanes and plans and mobilizes human and material resources before a hurricane hits, said Eileen Lewis of the Red Cross. The Associated Press contributed to this report.