Can I get a status report on I-10?

[Geoff R. Casavant]

We have some friends coming from Alabama and we want to see how the stretch of I-10 in Louisiana and east Texas held up after Katrina and Rita -- anyone know what traveling on I-10 is like?

Thanks in advance.

[lastliberalintexas]

1. It's a pain in the arse

Not because of Rita, though, but because of construction they are still doing in the Lake Charles area and between Beaumont and Orange. They'll be able to make it, but they might get stuck in a bit of traffic. In fact, it would probably be better for them to leave I10 in LA and take Hwy 12 into Texas. From there they can join back up to 10 at Vidor/Mauriceville just 5 miles or so east of Bmt and miss most of the bad stuff.

I hope they have a good trip. :)

[Geoff R. Casavant]

2. Thanks

I forwarded your comments to them verbatim.

[lastliberalintexas]

3. You're welcome

I forget where in LA they should leave 10, or even if it's across the border in MS, but I'm sure they can figure that out from a map!

Tell them to drive safely, of course. :)

[jobycom]

7. You'd have to get on Highway 12 either at Baton Rouge or Lafayette

or maybe at Kinder, but in Kinder and Lafayette you have a lot of extra driving. Highway 12 (not to be confused with I-12) makes an arc over I-10. It almost touches 10 at Baton Rouge, and does touch it around Vidor, but in the middle you have to drive forty miles or more north to reach it. There's a highway through Lake Charles or Sulfur, too, that connects 10 to Highway 12, but by that point you'd do better to wait through the construction. Unless you like trains. There's a great train museum in a cute little town just north of Lake Charles, on Highway 12, that's worth the stop if you're passing through. It's in De Quincy.

[lastliberalintexas]

9. I think it was in Hammond?

When I last made a trip to points east I remember it being faster to take 12 because of all the construction delays. I'll have to go look at a map now!

[jobycom]

10. Well, it's not called Highway 12 in Louisiana, it's Highway 190

And you can get on it in Hammond, but it gets kind of twisted and it's easy to lose the highway before Baton Rouge. It's easier to get on it in Baton Rouge (take I-110 north just before the river), or just before Baton Rouge (take Highway 61 up to it).

I have run into that construction around Sulfur before. Once I went up to De Quincy from Sulfur, but it took so long I didn't save any time. I've taken Highway 12 (190) all the way, but it takes at least an hour longer, sometimes two if you catch the traffic wrong. It's prettier than sitting on the interstate, but it doesn't save any time. There are a lot of stops, a lot of small town speed traps, and a lot of 30 MPH zones.

I usually take the drive late in the evening, though, so I just don't run into much construction. The couple of times I've had problems have been close to the normal rush hours. It used to be a lot worse, a couple years ago.

Anyway, that's my experience. I drive it 8 to 10 times a year, usually at night and on holidays, so maybe that's why I haven't had the problem. I'll be driving it again next week, in fact.

[jobycom]

4. I just drove it last weekend from Gulfport to Austin

Had no troubles at all. Of course, they should take I-12 around the north side of Lake Pontchartrain through Baton Rouge, and not go through New Orleans. This is different than the above poster who suggested Highway 12 from Baton Rouge to Texas. Highway 12 is a country highway with a lot of stopping through small towns. Pretty drive in some ways, but much slower than I-10 at that point.

[Lisa0825]

5. Add an extra 30 to 45 minutes for the detour....

I asked a guy from New Orleans yesterday about that, because I have been toying with the idea of driving to Florida. He said the detour was about 30-45 minutes.

[jobycom]

6. What detour? Is that in New Orleans?

If you take I-12 through Baton Rouge you'll always save 45 minutes. I-10 dips down to New Orleans, whereas I-12 goes in a straight line from Baton Rouge to Slidell, cutting out about forty miles.

I drove from Austin to Gulfport, then back again, and made the same time I always make. I did see some major delay on my way back on the other side, the eastbound side, right around Beaumont, but it wasn't there when I drove eastbound two days earlier, so I assumed it was an accident or something.

[lastliberalintexas]

8. No, that was from the construction

On some days they have the Neches River bridge down to one lane in either or even both directions. People in our office who live in Orange County say it can take 2 hours or more just to travel to Orange- which is of course why they are taking an alternate route out of Bmt.


And I think that the exit from 10 to Hwy 12 that I was thinking of is in Hammond, LA. Depending on the day and what they are doing with construction in SW LA and SE TX, it can actually be faster than the interstate. I know it's longer in miles, but it's better than being at a dead stop on I10 for an hour or more, and then crawling at 10 mph for 50 miles.

[ashling]

11. Interstate - 10, Aggies - 0

:rofl:
sorry, couldn't resist. I remember in High School somebody hung a banner with that on an overpass at I-10 and Echo Lane in Houston (Memorial)