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Hurricane evacuation corridor now roomier (7/15)

Posted August 2, 2009 at 3:46 pm
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By ELONA WESTON
AMERICAN PRESS

KINDER — The new and improved U.S. 165 was touted by state officials Tuesday as being a safer means of everyday travel and a more efficient route for hurricane evacuation.

State officials, area leaders and community members braved the heat Tuesday morning for a U.S. 165 celebration ceremony at New Hope Assembly of God Church.

The event, hosted by the Department of Transportation and Development, marked the completion of the newly widened U.S. 165 evacuation corridor from Interstate 10 in Iowa to Alexandria.

On hand for the ceremony were state highway officials, including DOTD Secretary William D. Ankner, who was the event’s key speaker.

Also speaking on Tuesday were Pat Santos, assistant deputy director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness; state police Maj. Joel “Young” Kilpatrick; and state Rep. Dorothy Sue Hill, D-Dry Creek.

Ankner said the highway’s enhancement is part of the state’s TIMED Program, which includes the widening of 536 miles of state highways to four lanes.

The program, funded by a 4-cent gasoline tax, is designed to spark economic development statewide.

“This is a great day for the department and for state government,” Ankner said.

He said state officials are “pleased” that there is another hurricane evacuation route, which will help thousands of residents leave the coast when a storm approaches.

“The extra lanes, along with the widening of I-10 in Lake Charles and U.S. 171, gives the people of Southwest Louisiana more options for emergency evacuation,” he said.

Work on the $387 million project on U.S. 165 included widening a 78-mile segment of roadway from I-10 in Iowa to Alexandria from two to four lanes.

The contractors for the project were Diamond B Construction, Gilchrist Construction and J.B. James Construction.

The 173-mile project to widen the entire U.S. 165 corridor to the Arkansas border is slated for completion by the middle of 2010.

There are reportedly 28.5 remaining miles of highway still under construction.

In July 2007, a similar ceremony was held to dedicate the completed four-laned portion of U.S. 171 through Calcasieu and Beauregard parishes.

The entire four-laning of U.S. 171 is 92 percent complete at present, according to the DOTD.