Construction on U.S. Highway 90 in Iberia Parish will affect any hurricane evacuations in coastal Louisiana this summer and for several years to come. Because of this, residents and businesses should consider completing hurricane preparations or evacuations earlier than normal in the event of a major storm forecast to strike the Gulf of Mexico coast between Mississippi and Iberia Parish.
Iberia Parish President M. Larry Richard issued the following tips ahead of major storms due to the ongoing construction along Highway 90:
- Any mandatory evacuation between Mississippi and Iberia Parish will generate heavy Westbound evacuation traffic here on US Highway 90 through the construction zone.
- In order to reduce evacuation delays LA DOTD will establish an evacuation detour route past the construction zone using Weeks Island Road for additional Westbound traffic capacity. This LA DOTD detour may close cross traffic on Jefferson Terrace Blvd., South Lewis St. and Center St. where they intersect with Weeks Island Rd. Depending on traffic conditions, LA DOTD may also close Darnall Rd. and Patoutville Rd. where they cross under US Hwy 90.
- Iberia Parish residents will not be able to reach locations such as Lowe’s along this detour when the detour is active and it may be difficult or impossible to cross US Hwy 90 in Iberia Parish.
- We are experiencing serious, difficult to clear accidents in this construction zone which completely block Westbound US Hwy 90. Such an accident during an evacuation would result in extreme backups on US Hwy 90 and heavy traffic using Iberia Parish roads as an alternative, making movement around Iberia Parish difficult.
- Fill your vehicles up early and keep them topped off. As in 2005 before Hurricane Katrina, fuel will be in short supply here during any evacuation using US Hwy 90.
- We could experience these effects even if the Hurricane itself does not affect Iberia Parish.
- If you are evacuating during heavier traffic, please plan your route early and consider these traffic issues. Give yourself extra time to evacuate due to these expected traffic delays.
- Please sign up for notifications from the Iberia Parish Information Notification System (Iberia PINS) using the QR code below. You can also find the QR Code on the Iberia Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness/911 Facebook page, or use the signup link on the Iberia Parish Government website. Iberia PINS is our best way to update you on developments affecting evacuations.
