FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2000
CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8409
DPS, OTHER STATE AGENCIES TO CONDUCT FULL-SCALE
LANE REVERSAL EXERCISE
COLUMBIA - The South Carolina Department of Public Safety, in conjunction with other state agencies, will conduct a lane reversal exercise on Monday, May 22. This exercise will simulate the deployment of law enforcement personnel and traffic control devices should the Governor order I-26 reversed for an evacuation. Lanes will not be reversed as part of the exercise.
The Emergency Preparedness Division under the guidance of EPD director Stan McKinney will conduct the exercise. The South Carolina Highway Patrol, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Department of Transportation, and Probation, Parole and Pardon Services will be participating in the exercise, which should begin around 8:30 a.m. and last until 3 p.m.
"We will try to make the exercise as realistic as possible, stopping just short of actually reversing the lanes," said Capt. Harry Stubblefield, who was appointed by Gov. Jim Hodges to serve as the state's Traffic Czar. "We will bring together all the personnel from different agencies that would be necessary during a real evacuation, brief them and deploy them to their various assignments."
As with an actual emergency, the simulation will begin at I-526 and I-26 in Charleston and will end at I-77and I-26 in Columbia. Law enforcement officers will be sent to cover every interchange between those two points. DOT will supply barricades, cones and other traffic control devices needed to reconfigure the interstate into a one-way operation. Aircraft will be deployed to monitor the length of I-26 and report on the progress of the exercise.
"We have made many improvements since last year's evacuation," Gov. Jim Hodges said. "This exercise will allow us to practice coordinating this massive effort in a non-crisis situation."
The exercise should not interfere with the flow of traffic. Intersections will not actually be blocked, and motorists will be allowed to move freely. However, the Highway Patrol cautions motorists travelling I-26 to exercise due care and be aware that law enforcement officers and DOT employees will be located on the shoulder of the highway and at exits.
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