MANCHAC, La. — Editor's note: On Friday, Oct. 27, Louisiana State Police reduced the number of victims to seven fatalities rather than eight following a forensic investigation.
Crews have spent the past few days clearing charred wreckage and debris from Monday’s 168-vehicle pileup on I-55 near Manchac, La.
A series of accidents in foggy conditions left seven dead and 63 injured.
Thursday, vehicles returned to the southbound lanes which were not as damaged as the northbound span.
Karen Pfeifer at Middendorf’s, just off the highway, says she understands safety first, but is happy some of her customers can now use I-55 to get to the restaurant.
“They’re not sure that we are even open, so we’re getting a lot calls, I’d say a zillion to see if we’re open, to see if it’s accessible to get to this location,” Pfeifer said.
Meanwhile a team of inspectors continued the process of checking out the structural integrity of northbound I-55.
“There was considerable damage from the fire, so, we’ve got to make sure the structure can support traffic or make repairs in order to get it back open to traffic,” Louisiana Transportation Secretary Eric Kalivoda said.
Questions remain as to why the roadway stayed open, when super foggy conditions presented an extreme hazard on the highway.
Kalivoda said typically the state will only close roads when they are flooded or iced over.
“But with fog and rain, heavy rain we need people to slow down and drive in a more reasonable rate of speed and not tailgate one another. The event that happened on I-55 was probably a result of that, people driving too fast, too close together.”
Local residents hope there will be lessons learned and additional safety measures taken in the wake of the deadly accident.
“If you’re going to close the Causeway, you close I-55 too because the conditions are going to be the same, if not worse over here," Jim Dinser from Ponchatoula said.
“You have to slow down, absolutely, you have to slow down,” Pfeifer said. “That’s important. Signage would be great, the digital signs and stuff to remind people. I also heard a lot of people didn’t have lights on.”
Kalivoda says the state will be studying the conclusions of the accident investigation to help prevent this type of tragedy in the future.
“We have a number of dynamic message signs already. Those were activated and they were providing warnings to motorists. We will be looking into further devices that we can deploy and we’re always looking to improve safety.”
There is no timetable as to when the northbound lanes of I-55 will reopen. According to DOTD, that decision will be made once inspectors determine the full extent of the damage to the elevated roadway.
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