In the aftermath of the recent storm events, the old discussion has come forth again – what to do about the Interstate 55 problem in St. John the Baptist Parish?

The problem is this: When the lake backs up, the access ramps are flooded, often with as much as a foot of water. This effectively blocks anyone from the East Bank of St. John Parish from evacuating north along I-55.

As it stands, one must go first to I-310 in St. Rose and drive to I-10 and back across the LaBranche Wetlands and Bonnet Carre Spillway to get to the northbound ramps on I-55. In short, this was designed to allow New Orleans to evacuate – and we can just sit here or wait our turn.

There are four possible solutions to this problem, and the governor needs to take a hand in speeding up this correction. Either the road is raised, the lake water is blocked, a new raised access ramp is built from U.S. Highway 51 south of I-10 or a new raised access ramp is built from eastbound I-10. That last would allow people to use the Belle Terre interchange to get on I-10 quickly and then to I-55.

Whatever is done needs to be done fast and done well. We missed the bullet this time, but how many times can we take this chance?

We need this help, and we need it now!

L’Observateur