Hurricane Contraflow Routes Changed

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) - Alabama and Louisiana coastal residents
fleeing future hurricanes will have to travel farther north along
Mississippi highways before exiting.
Changes were announced Thursday during the Gulf States Hurricane
Conference in Biloxi.
Transportation officials from Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama
say contraflow and evacuation plans have improved since Hurricane
Katrina in 2005, but they still need work.
Beginning this year, exits on Interstate 59 in Mississippi will
be closed until Purvis, which is about 34 miles further north.
Mississippi officials say exits on Interstate 55 will be closed
until motorists get to Brookhaven, which is about 31 miles further
than in previous years.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)