We knew we would have to get out of town fast. In prior evacuations the contraflow concept was developed to help motorists use the roads to get out of town without gridlock. The State Police considered it something of a curiosity but went along. In 2004 contraflow was used for the first time during the Hurricane Ivan evacuation. Massive traffic jams along I-10 west of the city seemed to suggest the State Police might have been right.

Using the data from Ivan, the state cautiously updated the plan. Since the problems during Ivan were experienced to the west of town, the new plan emphasized routes to the North. An agreement was forged with the State of Mississippi and I-59 north remained in contraflow almot to Hattiesburg. In a significant reversal of logic, I-12 west from Mandeville to Baton Rouge is closed when contraflow is in effect. This eliminates the bottleneck at the I-10 / I-12 merge in Baton Rouge. The police learned to implement contraflow earlier and quicker.

This plan worked well. Contraflow went into effect at 4pm on Saturday or about 36 hours before landfall. The plan was coordinated with Mississippi and worked so well that there is virtually no post storm discussion of this aspect. It turns out that there are more than enough roads out of Dodge City if you just use them well. One thing that future evacuation planner might want to consider is the impact of highway red lights. All lights in the direction of an evacuation ought to be turned to flashing yellow.