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Hurricane Season Soon; Alabama Practices For Florida Evacuees
May 21, 2009
If the Florida Panhandle evacuates for a hurricane this year, travel into Alabama should be easier due to the opening of a four-laned Highway 113 and something called “contraflow”.
A $22.7 million project, which included funds from the state of Alabama, Flomaton and both Escambia County, Alabama, and Escambia County, Florida, provides 13.5 miles of new four-lane divided highway from Highway 29/31 in Flomaton to Exit 69 on I-65. The project opened in November of last year.
On Wednesday, Alabama officials practiced their contraflow procedures. The term “contraflow” describes the condition when an interstate highway’s lanes carry traffic in the opposite direction for an evacuation (for instance, when I-65’s southbound lanes carry northbound traffic).
During Wednesday’s practice, around 200 Alabama Department of Transportation workers and a contingency of state troopers were positioned along I-65 between Baldwin County and Montgomery to simulate the activity associated with reversing I-65 traffic.
The plan for reversing I-65 traffic consists of 110 steps and requires 200 Department of Transportation employees, about 100 state troopers, and additional personnel from state and local emergency management and local law enforcement agencies.
The rehearsal simulated the lane reversal activities that may occur during a real hurricane. It provided an opportunity for Alabama officials to practice the dozens of steps required, and to fine tune the process. Personnel involved in the rehearsal pre-positioned themselves and their equipment, just as they would during their response to a real hurricane. There are 29 assigned checkpoints and 22 interchanges along I-65 that are involved in the lane reversal plan.
The event was only a practice; traffic was not really reverse or detoured.
Pictured above: Alabama Department of Transportation personnel and Alabama State Troopers positioned at I-65 and Jack Springs Road north of Atmore. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
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