BY JESSICA VANEGEREN
Of The Post and Courier Staff
Main highways, known for nonstop travel and faster speed limits, aren't always the fastest routes to higher ground during a hurricane evacuation.
Coastal residents learned this lesson after sitting in gridlocked traffic while escaping Hurricane Hugo in 1989, and more recently while evacuating for Hurricane Floyd in 1999. The lengthy, miserable evacuation prompted public outcry from residents and public officials alike.
Some wondered why a more effective evacuation plan, one that did not shuffle motorists toward a few designated interstates and one that contained a lane-reversal policy, was not in place.
Such a plan might be put to the test as early as this weekend if Hurricane Frances threatens the South Carolina coast and prompts a large-scale evacuation.
Last year, Gov. Mark Sanford approved a new evacuation plan after working with several state agencies. The plan designated five main interstates for lane reversal, including Interstate 26, and shuffled hordes of cars away from main routes by creating evacuation routes on secondary roads.
"Nothing like this plan was in place for (Hurricane) Floyd," said Sid Gaulden, a spokesman with the state Department of Public Safety. "Our plan now alleviates everyone trying to get to the same place at the same time."
For some, this may mean traveling down an unfamiliar road. But state and transportation officials say the secondary routes will provide a less-congested, faster path to higher ground than the alternative, everyone driving on the main interstates.
A "fast" evacuation time does not mean traveling at normal speeds.
"If you arrive at your destination in three to four times the typical travel time, you are arriving in a good window (of time)," said Will Folks, Sanford's spokesman.
This means a trip from Charleston to Columbia, normally a two-hour drive, would likely take six to eight hours under the new plan.
Earlier this month, roughly 200,000 Horry County residents packed into 50,000 vehicles to evacuate the Grand Strand because of Hurricane Charley.
Folks said the call to reverse U.S. Highway 501, a new option under the evacuation plan, was a success.
"Most folks were able to get out without being stuck in traffic for a long period of time," Folks said.
Officials urge families to travel in one car, if possible, and to bring a map and a copy of the evacuation plan with them.
Residents also are urged to evacuate when a voluntary evacuation is called for by the governor.
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