NEW ORLEANS — The threat of another dense fog looms over New Orleans. The metro area and surrounding parishes are under a dense fog advisory through Thursday morning.
The dense fog mixed with smoke from a marsh fire in New Orleans East, brought morning commuter traffic to a standstill.
If fog impacts driving conditions on the causeway, Lake Pontchartrain Causeway General Manager Carlton Dufrechou says his team has a plan to keep drivers safe.
“When an event like this happens, it's all hands on deck,” Dufrechou said. “We'll call in additional police forces. All of our maintenance people will come in early. The motorist assistance patrol will be here. The dispatchers are here.”
The best way to stay safe on your morning commute? Dufrechou says if you can, wait it out. If you have to drive through the fog, keep your eyes on the road.
“And the main thing is just pay attention while you're driving. The visibility, you can go from clear to nothing, almost in just a few seconds, particularly at highway speeds. So it's imperative that all of us put down the cell phones, and be aware that there's nothing more precious than life.”
Infrastructure officials aren’t the only ones preparing for foggy roads. Commuters on the North Shore are also planning ahead.
Harvey Campbell is on the pastoral staff at City Church in New Orleans, but he and many of his staff live in Slidell. He says it took some of his staff up to five hours to get to work.
“Safety has to be paramount,” Campbell said. “But of course, that costs, right? So we lose productivity. But that's the priority. So like today, most of the team couldn't even get through until like 10:30, 11:00 in the morning. But that's the right thing to do.”
NOPD issued a statement saying additional police officers are on duty to monitor fog conditions throughout the night.
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