One of the most dangerous stretches of highway in Louisiana, possibly in the whole country, is a 18 mile stretch of northbound I-49 between the towns of Washington and Whiteville. On a sunny day the roadway is typical of any other, but in rainy conditions it becomes very dangerous, even possibly deadly
If you have ever driven this stretch of road you have either seen dozens of cars off the side or, unfortunately, found yourself in a crash.
I was in such a crash yesterday. I was driving north up I-49 from Lafayette to my home in Lecompte when unexpectedly my car began to fish tail. I knew from experience that the way to correct this was to steer in the direction of the slide. This did absolutely no good. In fact it actually made things worse. The car went completely out of control and I ended up taking a terrifying trip back and forth across the highway that eventually came to an end about forty yards off the roadway in a muddy bog.
The front bumper of my car was completely torn off, yet after the car had been pulled out, I discovered that it was still drivable.
I discovered from a conversation with a local sheriff and the tow-truck operator that the usual fate of a car that goes off the road in this spot is that it flips over, crashes into the nearby tree line or ends up submerged in up to six feet of water.
The tow-truck operator noted that my car was one of a very few he has ever seen drive away from a crash in that area.
Further conversation revealed that I was the tenth such accident that afternoon and also revealed the cause. It was revealed to me that the highway itself had been poorly designed and constructed. Instead of the edges of the roadway tapering off downward to allow rain water to drain off it instead is raised allowing the water to pool causing cars to hydroplane when they attempt to drive over it.
The advice that I was given was to try and say as close to the dotted line as possible. That apparently is the only way to try and prevent hitting the water and ending up crashed on the side of the highway.
I would like to convey my disgust at the fact that the state has failed to fix this stretch of highway despite the number of accidents that occur there frequently and, reportedly, the number of lawsuits that have been filed.
The state has even neglected to even put up a guardrail to prevent cars from going off the road into the trees or deep water.
This negligence is only going to end up costing someone their life someday, if it hasn't already.
My advice is to AVOID THIS SECTION OF HIGHWAY AT ALL COSTS WHEN IT RAINS.
Check Out:
Louisiana Is On The Verge Of A Water Crisis
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