FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2002
CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8409

COLUMBIA - The South Carolina Department of Public Safety, in conjunction with other state agencies, will conduct hurricane evacuation lane reversal exercises on Wednesday, June 5. This exercise will simulate the deployment of law enforcement personnel and traffic control devices should Gov. Hodges order I-26 or U.S. 278 reversed for a hurricane evacuation. Lanes will not be reversed as part of the exercise. Hurricane season begins June 1.

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 and U.S. 278 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.

The Emergency Management Division, under the guidance of EMD director Ron Osborne, will conduct the exercise. The South Carolina Highway Patrol, State Law Enforcement Division, Department of Transportation, and Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services will be participating in the exercise, which should begin around 11 a.m. and last until 3 p.m.

As with an actual emergency, the simulation will begin at I-526 and I-26 in Charleston and will end at I-77 and I-26 in Columbia. The Beaufort county simulation will begin at the Cross Island Parkway and culminate at S.C. 46. 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 from SLED, the Civil Air Patrol, the Forestry Commission and the National Guard will be deployed to monitor all evacuation routes to include the length of I-26 and U.S. 278 as part of the exercise.

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