Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Storm fears prompt evacuations
Already, the roads are feeling the impact of Hurricane Irma.
The Florida Emergency Operations Center’s real-time traffic counters show an increase in hourly traffic volume around the state compared to the usual traffic load.
“There was significantly more traffic on the turnpike throughout Broward County [Wednesday] morning, particularly northbound, likely the result of evacuation activity,” said Broward traffic engineering director Scott Brunner. The same was evident on Interstate 95. “Traffic was fairly heavy but it seemed to be running pretty smooth,” said Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Wysocky. “I-95 through the Treasure Coast was steady with no major backups.”
More than 5 million people live in South Florida so emergency managers say having most residents head out of state is impractical. They prefer people leave areas east of I-95 and stay in designated shelters or with relatives or friends inland.
In 2005, nearly 3 million fled Hurricane Rita in Houston. More than 100 people died in the evacuation, many succumbing to heat exhaustion along traffic-choked and gasdeprived highways.
And as Hurricane Harvey advanced on Houston last month, Mayor Sylvester Turner stressed, “You literally cannot put 6.5 million people on the road. If you think the situation right now is bad, you give an order to evacuate, you are creating a nightmare.”
Still, if you are intent on driving out of Irma’s way, there are several designated evacuation routes around the state. They include I-75 along Alligator Alley; I-4 from Tampa to Orlando; I-10 from Jacksonville to I-75; and I-75 from Wildwood to the Georgia state line.
The state has changed its evacuation plan this year, switching from one-way highways to the use of shoulders and toll-free express lanes to handle the excess traffic. It takes less manpower to set up and maintain traffic flow on shoulders than reversing lanes. It also reduces