Traffic backup 100 miles long


HOUSTON - Traffic was backed up for 100 miles along Interstate 45 
through Houston on Thursday as drivers tried to get north, but Gov. Rick 
Perry said the evacuation was on schedule.
Arrangements were being made to move fuel trucks along the evacuation 
routes to help stranded motorists.

"We'll get fuel to those who are on low or out of gas," Perry said at 
a televised news conference.

Trucks contracted from the Texas Department of Transportation and the 
U.S. Department of Defense will assist in the effort.

"This is unprecedented,'' said Mark Cross of TxDOT. "We're doing the 
best we can.''

The state was trying to open counterflow lanes north of Houston to 
relieve the bottleneck where I-45 narrows to two lanes on the way out of the 
city.

The state hopes to do the same this afternoon on Interstate 10 between 
Katy and Columbus, which is 90 miles west of Houston.

Getting out of the city in other ways wasn't any easier.

Houston Mayor Bill White said passengers should plan for waits of at 
least four hours at airports because of the failure of Transportation 
Security Administration employees to show up for work.

At William P. Hobby Airport, some airline employees said only two TSA 
screeners were at work this morning.

Passenger Kein O'Neal stood in line for four hours to check a bag 
outside the terminal.

``They weren't ready for this. They don't have enough people. It's 
chaotic,'' he said.

Inside, the wait to check in for Southwest Airlines flights was as 
long as three hours.

A police officer using a bullhorn was trying to calm the nerves of 
those standing in line.

``We've never had a crowd like this," officer A. Carter Jr. told the 
crowd. "This airport has never seen anything like this in its history.

"We're doing the best we can, but ya'll have got to work with us.''

Bill Hanna, Star-Telegram Staff Writer