Updated May 18, 2021 at 5 p.m. ET.
According to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), two of three lanes are back open on Interstate 10 eastbound at Siegen Lane in Baton Rouge. The Siegen Lane eastbound onramps remain closed. After heavy rain late Monday night, both directions of I-10 between Siegen Lane and Highland Road were closed due to flooding.
Although two eastbound lanes are now open, drivers should remain alert for any remaining water on the road.
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Massive amounts of rain have flooded parts of southern Louisiana this week, leading to road closures on U.S. and state routes.
One interstate highway also succumbed to the flooding late Monday night — a section of Interstate 10 just southeast of Baton Rouge.
Related: More major flooding expected this week in Deep South
About a 5-mile stretch remained closed between Siegen Lane and Highland Road, according to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LaDOTD) road closure map at 3:30 ET Tuesday afternoon. Louisiana traffic updates are available here.
As of 10 a.m. Tuesday, some automated weather stations in this area had reported more than 10 inches of rain since Monday. This is according to National Weather Service records.
Lake Charles, Louisiana, was hit harder Monday than any other part of the state. The city’s regional airport (ICAO code: LCH) received a daily record of 12.49 inches of rain, smashing the old May 17 record of 3 inches set in 1914. It was also the third-wettest day on record for the city. The flooding prompted water rescues, and Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a state of emergency.
Flooding hit other areas of Louisiana Monday, as well as portions of eastern Texas. Additional periods of heavy rain could virtually drown areas of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma through Thursday. Potential target cities include Brownsville, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Texarkana, Dallas-Fort Worth and Wichita Falls in Texas; Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport in Louisiana; as well as Oklahoma City.
Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.
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