U.S. 165 clogged; I-49 OK

Traffic was forced to a crawl along U.S. 165 near Kinder today as evacuees crammed it and U.S. 190, forcing police to deal with miles of evacuee traffic.

Traffic was heavy enough to make the drive from Iowa to the Coushatta Casino - normally about a 35-minute trip - into an hour-and-a-half gridlock crawl at about 11 a.m. Thursday. From there, traffic lightened, with decent flow through Oberlin.

Travel slowed down again around mile marker 36, about five miles north of Oberlin, for about seven miles. From there, traffic moved slowly, but consistently, until Oakdale, where many evacuees were seen stopping at motels and hotels.

North of there, moderate traffic moved at full speed to Forest Hill. On Interstate 49 from Forest Hill to Natchitoches, traffic was light to moderate with no delays.
Staff Reports