After Hurricane Katrina, A Traffic Deluge

Right after Hurricane Katrina, tens of thousands of people rushed from New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The influx of evacuees and recovery crews was a recipe for road congestion. Traffic volumes hit 25-year projected growth overnight. There was gridlock in Louisiana’s capital city.

Amy Jeffries reports that Baton Rouge jumped in the national congestion rankings and continued to climb. The latest Urban Mobility Scorecard says it’s the third most congested among mid-sized U.S. cities.