Florida officials have advised drivers evacuating ahead of Hurricane Frances that I-75 and I-95 Northbound are very congested and take back roads when possible. All tolls on Florida were suspended yesterday to accommodate the motorists fleeing from the hurricane, who are now flooding the highways.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) said traffic has subsided as of early morning today.
On I-95 near the Georgia line, traffic is slowing at three times the historical volume to over 1,500 vehicles per hour. At I-75 near the Georgia line, traffic is reported at eight times the normal volume— 2,392 vehicles per hour, but averaging 70 mph.
Heavy traffic is expected to continue throughout the day in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina, FDEM said.
Over 2.5 million people along the state’s Atlantic coast were asked to evacuate— the largest in state history, the New York Times reported. There are long lines for gas, on top of fuel shortages due to delivery freezes as a result of port shutdowns in the state, according to the New York Times.
