Hurricane Ivan Prompts Road Closures

Louisiana state officials have turned I-10 running through New Orleans into a one-way street directing traffic out of the city, as 1.2-million people in the city were ordered to evacuate before Hurricane Ivan makes landfall.

The New York Times reported every highway out of New Orleans was ground to a near standstill throughout most of Tuesday. The hurricane is expected to make landfall as early as Thursday.

Louisiana State Police reports the following traffic information:

• I-10 Eastbound is closed at US-61
• Entry into New Orleans is through US-61 Westbound only within LA
• I-55 Southbound going into New Orleans is closed from I-12 TO I-10. This includes all interchanges in between, including US-51 bypass in Hammond, LA-22 in Ponchatoula, and US-51 South of Ponchatoula.

  In Alabama a mandatory evacuation was ordered for Mobile and Baldwin counties south of I-10. Traffic on I-65 Northbound from mobile yesterday moved at an average of 35 to 40 mph.

  In Alabama:

• I-65 Southbound into Mobile is closed at Montgomery
• US-90 at Baldwin County is closed at Bankhead Tunnel due to potential flooding

  In Mississippi:

• Access to I-59 Southbound from US-49 Northbound ramp is closed to alleviate congestion

  In Florida:

  The Florida Department of Transportation is reporting no road closures at press time.