Driving to the Beach? Expect Delays

When a friend from New Orleans posted a photo of this t-shirt on Facebook, it reminded me of Highway 98 – the main thoroughfare near my house (and part of the travel route in my book, A Literary Traveler’s Guide to the Gulf South). New Orleanians have a way of embracing the bad and having some fun with it. The Crescent City is filled with potholes,and some residents have quit grumbling and started celebrating. A local news channel features a “Pot Hole of the Day,” there’s a New Orleans Pothole Instagram page, and residents even decorate the orange cones in the pot holes for the holidays.

At Christmas, I wanted to decorate one of the Highway 98 cones near my house with garland. My son said I might get plowed down by a crazy driver which brought me to my senses. One brave resident did swipe an orange cone to plant in a pothole in our neighborhood.

If you’re coming south for vacation and traveling from Bay St. Louis to Apalachicola on Highways 90 (and 98 which coincides at some points), heed the t-shirt message and expect delays – and not only from traffic.

This was the scene this afternoon around 4:30 in the Naval Live Oaks between Pensacola and Gulf Breeze, Florida. Cars, cones and barrels as far as we could see. Fortunately we were going west, while all the others were heading east.

In some places the birds, primarily Least Terns, are nesting. Along the Mississippi Coast for two miles, the largest colony of Least Terns in the U.S. nests. Expect delays. Traffic slows to a crawl along the beach. Forget about the traffic jam, enjoy the view. It still beats driving I-10.

In the Gulf Islands National Seashore near Pensacola Beach, Florida, Snowy Plovers and Least Terns nest from spring through fall. Black Terns are everywhere in summer and early fall. Speed limits are reduced. Expect delays. Black Skimmers nest near Navarre Beach, Florida, and traffic creeps along the Navarre Bridge to protect the nesting birds. Drivers like to watch the little chicks scurrying about the shore. Expect delays.

Warnings on the Navarre (Florida) bridge.

Black skimmers near the Navarre Bridge.

Near Perdido Key in the Florida Panhandle, it’s going to be very dark at night. Even if there’s not much traffic. Expect delays. There’s a new artificial light ordinance to protect the sea turtles (mostly Loggerheads) nesting in the beach areas. The bright lights disorient the turtle hatchlings which are attempting to reach the sea from their beach nests. Instead of reaching the safety of the Gulf they end up crossing the road heading for bright lights. Though you can still shine your car’s headlights, no bright lights from businesses will illuminate your path.

A turtle at a Pensacola Beach event where sea turtles are released after being saved.

If you’re heading east along the Florida Panhandle, you’ll run into bumper to bumper traffic near Hurlburt Field’s main gate along Highway 98 at certain times of the day. And if you’re near Destin, which is no longer the sleepy little fishing village and now more like the French Riviera, expect delays. Destin has been discovered and there are more vehicles than highway space.

Sometimes it’s foggy and sometimes there’s a prescribed burn in the protected forests, or a wreck on a bridge or a causeway. All these things slow traffic. If you have a reservation, tee time or want to get someplace before it closes, pace yourself. It usually takes much longer to get where you’re going than you expect. Saturdays and Sundays are the worst — that’s when everyone heads for the beach.

Don’t depend on computer-estimated times. If you are pressed for time, load an app like WAZE to alert you of bridge closures and accidents. Much of the information is user supplied and helpful. But when you travel on a peninsula or island, there are few back roads, shortcuts or alternative routes. You can also run regional traffic apps. Each state has one:

ROAD ALERT APP LINKS

Mississippi

Alabama

Florida

Whatever the rush, remember you’re on “island time” now. Enjoy the sunsets, nesting birds and turtles, and beware of giant orange cones and barricades. Welcome to the beach! Expect delays.