Posted 6:20 am Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Traffic 'Bumper to Bumper' as Gulf Coast Evacuees Head Home
First it was a mass exodus to get out of the Gulf Coast region.
Now there is a massive wave of people returning to the area.
Tyler Paper reporter Kenneth Dean took Interstate 45 to College Station on Monday and got caught up in the traffic of people returning to their homes following Hurricane Ike.
Tens of thousands of evacuees are moving back into the region after spending time in safer areas.
“It is bumper-to-bumper,” Dean reported from a cell phone.
Traffic was moving only about 55 mph instead of the posted 70 mph. Roadside parks also were crammed and lines at gas stations were long and growing, he said.
At some places cars were backed up onto service roads and off-ramps.
Gas was selling as high as $4.90 a gallon, observed Dean. Many places had no gas at all.
At Madisonville, an electronic sign warned motorists that there was no food and gas to be found in the city and they should keep on going.
An attendant at a Shell station was outside motioning people not to pull into the parking lot.
Fast food restaurants in town were not open for business.
“It is absolutely crazy,” he said.
“It is bumper-to-bumper,” Dean reported from a cell phone.
Traffic was moving only about 55 mph instead of the posted 70 mph. Roadside parks also were crammed and lines at gas stations were long and growing, he said.
At some places cars were backed up onto service roads and off-ramps.
Gas was selling as high as $4.90 a gallon, observed Dean. Many places had no gas at all.
At Madisonville, an electronic sign warned motorists that there was no food and gas to be found in the city and they should keep on going.
An attendant at a Shell station was outside motioning people not to pull into the parking lot.
Fast food restaurants in town were not open for business.
“It is absolutely crazy,” he said.
