People in Florida need to prepare alternate routes for evac

[jdray]

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/tops ... ryid=83091

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- With hurricane season two days away, the Florida Department of Transportation is working more than seven different major construction projects on evacuation routes.

But in case of a hurricane - the DOT says all of it would be on hold and lane closures could open.

"This is something we've had plenty of experience with," says Mike Goldman with the DOT.

Goldman says with advance warning they are able to open lanes and make construction sites safe.

"Nobody expects us to stop construction, they do expect and rightfully so, whatever we do, must not impede an evacuation," says Goldman.

At projects like the I-95, I-10 interchange reconstruction, the DOT would tie down equipment and signs and anchor barricades.

At a project near water like the I-95 Trout River Bridge replacement the DOT brings down cranes and move barges away from the road.

An orderly evacuation is the priority and the DOT will open some of the lanes in a construction zone, but only if it's safe.

"If there's a stranded vehicle or accident, or someone hitting a barricade or sign, that would cause a snowballing affect for evacuation traffic," says Goldman

I-95 and I-10 exchange is a HUGE construction project.
http://www.thebigi.info/happening_now.htm

For a complete list, see:
http://www2.dot.state.fl.us/programdeve ... ajproj.asp

[Persepone]

The Cape Cod safety people seem to think they can evacuate 300,000 people with 4 lanes of traffic in 24 hours. Does this sound plausible?

There are two bridges off Cape Cod. In summer a significant percentage of people here are tourists, so they are unfamiliar with local roads, etc.

Under "normal" conditions it can take a couple of hours to get"onCape" on Friday evenings or "off Cape" on Sunday mornings because of volume, minor accidents, etc. etc. Even now that the Rotary was replaced, the Memorial Day traffic was horrendous.

Opinions on how an evacuation plan might work?

[JonathanBelles]

Unfortunatly I am living in a place where evac will be impossible. There are 3 bridges (12 lanes) (24 lanes contraflow) and a few land routes. pinellas county probably has the most people/square mile, 3,291 as of 2000. That number is probably closer to 4000 now. The population is estimated to be 930,000. This is all in 280 square miles. St. Pete has the greatest population and density, 248,000 and 4163 people/square mile! evac will be nightmare.

[Janie2006]

Fact, that sounds like a huge problem just waiting to happen at some point.

I've always said that its a smart move to be aware of all possible routes out of the evacuation area. Summer tourists should make themselves aware of potential wx activity before finalizing plans for their vacations. Along the MGC, I think we're doing a pretty good job of developing better evacuation routes. MS 63 is a good example of a state highway that has been 4-laned (although I'm not sure if it has been expanded to 4 lanes all the way north to Waynesboro) in order to assist evacuations should the need arise.

[Janie2006]

The Cape Cod safety people seem to think they can evacuate 300,000 people with 4 lanes of traffic in 24 hours. Does this sound plausible?

There are two bridges off Cape Cod. In summer a significant percentage of people here are tourists, so they are unfamiliar with local roads, etc.

Under "normal" conditions it can take a couple of hours to get"onCape" on Friday evenings or "off Cape" on Sunday mornings because of volume, minor accidents, etc. etc. Even now that the Rotary was replaced, the Memorial Day traffic was horrendous.

Opinions on how an evacuation plan might work?

Persepone, does the state DOT have a plan to reverse the lanes of the bridges? They could possibly have all lanes of the bridges heading off the Cape.

[olddude]

Fl. Keys have been evacuating 113 miles across 42 bridges for years with no contraflow. Evacs are in stages with the tourists and mobile home owners out first. Then come the Lower, then Middle, then Upper Keys. The best advice is if you are going to go...go early! Just be prepared to bug out and do it if need be.

[CrazyC83]

Fl. Keys have been evacuating 113 miles across 42 bridges for years with no contraflow. Evacs are in stages with the tourists and mobile home owners out first. Then come the Lower, then Middle, then Upper Keys. The best advice is if you are going to go...go early! Just be prepared to bug out and do it if need be.

How much has the population changed in recent years in the Keys? If it has significantly increased, the past isn't a good judgement. Large sections of the coast have seen such happen, including much of mainland Florida.

While increased capacity is virtually impossible within the Keys, I-95 should be extended to Key Largo with evacuations the main purpose.

[Derek Ortt]

How would the keys handle a hurricane coming in from the ENE (similar to Katrina, but a little to the south and much stronger

The warnings would go out first for the upper Keys. A 24 hour warning for the Lower Keys may only give 6-9 hours to get out (as the storm would be hitting Miami then)

[olddude]

How much has the population changed in recent years in the Keys? If it has significantly increased, the past isn't a good judgement. Large sections of the coast have seen such happen, including much of mainland Florida.

While I haven't any population figures as a long time resident I can tell you that our schools are in a cycle of declining enrollment, summer time business closures are at a high unseen since the 80's, so I am inclined to say our hurricane season pop. is reduced.

How would the keys handle a hurricane coming in from the ENE (similar to Katrina, but a little to the south and much stronger

The warnings would go out first for the upper Keys. A 24 hour warning for the Lower Keys may only give 6-9 hours to get out (as the storm would be hitting Miami then)

If I recall when evacs. are called for in the Keys it is for the entire Keys, reasons being if a bridge or bridge approach is taken out in the upper Keys the infrastructure is affected throughout. The water line travels the length of our island chain and a break in the Upper Keys affects us all. The toughest part of an ENE storm evac. will be once we hit the gridlock that will be mainland South FL. Anyone delaying an evac. in that situation may well be in BIG trouble.

Here is an account of the order of evac. from Hurricane Wilma, a storm that approached from the south west of Key West and ran up the Gulf side of the Keys causing the worst flooding the Keys have seen in many years.

"Monroe County Emergency Management officials announced plans for a mandatory evacuation for all Florida Keys residents to begin at noon Saturday, due to a possible threat from Hurricane Wilma.

A mandatory evacuation for all mobile home dwellers and special needs clients began Saturday at 6 a.m. Residents living aboard boats were mandated to leave beginning Wednesday, the same time visitors, recreational vehicles and travel-trailers were ordered to leave.

At noon Saturday, the mandatory evacuation for all residents living from the Seven Mile Bridge through Key West goes into effect. This includes the entire Lower Keys and Key West.

At 3 p.m. Saturday, the mandatory evacuation extends to all residents living from the Seven Mile Bridge to the Long Key Bridge. This includes Marathon and the remainder of the Middle Keys.

At 6 p.m. Saturday, the mandatory evacuation continues for all residents living from the Long Key Bridge through Ocean Reef and to Florida City and mainland Monroe County. This includes Ocean Reef, Key Largo, Islamorada and Flamingo."

Scott
Tryin' to reason with hurricane season