Published on Thursday, September 1, 2005
in the Gainesville Sun

Labor day travelers urged to be patient

Mounting gas prices may thwart some Labor Day road trips, but tourism officials and police are still warning that this weekend could be a holiday travel mess because of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Caravans of trucks headed west to help with hurricane recovery, hurricane evacuees heading home to assess damage and travelers headed to resorts to celebrate the long weekend will likely clog highways and pique tempers, state officials said.

"You've got some people in party mode, others in a very emotional mode because they're worried about family and friends who may still be trapped, and you've got everyone stuck behind slow-moving caravans of trucks," said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Mike Burroughs. "Then there's the possibility of road debris - anytime you move heavy equipment like those caravans do, there's the chance of shifting loads, leakage and dropping of loads in some cases. We are really, very seriously warning motorists to use patience while driving this weekend."

As of Wednesday, managers at the Interstate 75 Welcome Center in Jennings had actually reported seeing roughly 10 percent fewer trips a day than usual, said Roland Loog, director of the Alachua County Visitors and Convention Bureau. The decrease could illustrate this weekend's other major travel obstacle: gas prices.

A depleted supply of natural gas stemming from hurricane damage to Gulf Coast oil rigs and refineries could cause gas prices to climb 20 to 30 cents a gallon by the weekend, according to analysts.

Though the full extent of the damage is still unclear, a University of Central Florida researcher estimated on Wednesday that more than half the Gulf Coast's oil output and more than a quarter of its natural gas output will be disrupted for more than 10 days.

Tourism officials said they weren't sure how those grim predictions would affect Floridians' travel plans.

"We've not quite had a situation like this before, with a major hurricane plowing through the heart of the oil refining region," said Randy Bly, a spokesman for AAA South. "If gas prices truly do climb 20 or 30 cents per gallon, I'd have to think that some folks, albeit a low percentage of people, would think twice about driving."

Last week, before Hurricane Katrina ravaged Gulf Coast beaches and halted oil and gas production, AAA estimated that 28.8 million Americans would take road trips this weekend, up only slightly from 28.7 million last year.

Regardless of what's happening in the rest of the region, Gainesville will likely host more than 20,000 overnight guests this weekend for the University of Florida's season-opening football game on Saturday, Loog said.

Also, Loog said, travelers who had planned to visit the Panhandle and other Gulf Coast destinations may end up in Florida instead.

"With airfare being a mess and two or three major destinations eliminated, I suspect that traffic could be pretty strong this weekend," Loog said. "Those people who thought about New Orleans, Biloxi and Gulfport - if they want a beach, they could be heading to Florida."

The Florida Department of Transportation this week warned cross-state travelers that roads in Florida, Georgia and Alabama will be spotted with DUI checkpoints and undercover officers as part of a weekend-long campaign among the three states.

Burroughs said the Florida Highway Patrol would be out in force, too.

But Katrina has even altered FHP's plans. About 55 of its troopers were dispatched to Mississippi and Louisiana to help with hurricane recovery, Burroughs said.

"We plan to continue our routine patrol that we would normally have," Burroughs said. "We're trying to warn people that it's going to require a lot of patience traveling during this Labor Day period, but also assure them that troopers have it under control."