Driving and ice don’t mix

Breaux Bridge – Interstate 10 across Acadiana was battening down for another winter storm as the Teche News went to press this week. This one was expected to be worse than last week’s, which shut down traffic across the Atchafalaya Basin and was blamed for several deaths across the state.

Forecasts called for the storm hitting Tuesday to bring more frozen precipitation over the I-10 corridor, which means more ice on the highways and more closed routes.

By later in the afternoon on Tuesday, a sleet/snow mix was expected to blanket the area, with accumulations of one to two inches and as much as three inches in some areas.

Temperatures were expected to remain below freezing through midday Wednesday, meaning that roads and bridges that became iced over Tuesday will likely remain closed until at least Wednesday afternoon.

Traveling will remain hazardous through Wednesday.

Last week, at least two people were killed in weather-related traffic accidents along I-10. Louisiana State Police reported working more than 200 accidents with less tragic results.

Icy surfaces caused the closure of I-10 across the Atchafalaya Basin last Friday, and a wreck on the alternate route of U.S. Highway 190 temporarily shut off Baton Rouge from Acadiana altogether.

The 24-mile-long Lake Pontchartrain Causeway was closed, along with elevated portions of Interstate 49 through Alexandria.

The first weather-related fatality was reported around 1:30 p.m. Friday in the Lake Charles area when a driver lost control on an icy I-10 overpass and was killed when the car was struck by another vehicle. And several hours later in Jefferson Davis Parish, a woman lost control on another I-10 overpass and was killed when an 18-wheeler struck her.