VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Emergency management officials say most of the designated evacuation routes in the state go from east to west, so with so much construction on the roads, they are urging you to get prepared now.
"I remember when I was over in Lake and Sumter counties operating the emergency medical services," said Volusia County Emergency Management Director Jim Judge. "I went up on an overpass over I-75 and all I could see to the north as far as I could see to the south was traffic."
It was more than a decade ago but Judge says he remembers what the roads looked like the last time Florida was hit by a hurricane. So with a storm looming to our south and another one right behind it, he wants to make sure you are prepared, hoping to avoid what many are calling "hurricane amnesia".
"When you have had so many years go by, it's in the rear-view mirror. So what am I going to do? Where am I going to go if I have to evacuate?"
But right now, nearly every evacuation route in the state is under some type of construction, including the 21-mile stretch of the I-4 Ultimate project. But Florida Department of Transportation officials say their contractors already have plans in place if a hurricane hits.
"In our pre-construction conference they provide us with a hurricane plan well in advance in a storm way out before a storm comes," said FDOT spokesperson Jennifer Horton.
She says that plan includes clearing as much of the construction zone as possible, while securing equipment they can't move.
"They will lower the higher equipment, they will secure heavy equipment, they will remove things that will blow around," Horton said. "We try to get the roads as open as possible so if we are able to open any additional lanes we do so you can travel safely and that you can get to and from your destination as efficiently as possible."
The I-4 Ultimate project recently sent out its hurricane readiness plan in an email newsletter. To read it in detail, click here.