Fog causes accidents and chaos on Lake Pontchartrain Causeway | A Tammany

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway became a nightmare for commuters Tuesday morning after at least six accidents resulted in multiple injuries and damaged vehicles scattered across the lanes that could take hours to clear.

Both sections of the bridge were closed shortly after 8:30 a.m., and Causeway general manager Carlton Dufrechou said he was unsure how long the bridge would remain closed.

“It could take a few hours,” he said at 10 a.m. “That will be after lunch.”

Dufrechou said he believes all of the stranded motorists on the Causeway made it to both sides of the bridge.

“There are several injuries, but the good news is that everyone will be fine,” he added.

Some TV channels said there could be 40-50 vehicles. Dufrechou said he didn’t know the number of vehicles involved, but the 50 figure might be a bit high.

“I would rather try to give you a number,” he said.

Kristin Hendry was one of the commuters who got stuck in the mess. As a court reporter from Mandeville, she commutes to work on the South Coast every day, she said.

But on Tuesday morning their journey came to a halt at mile marker 19 heading south. She sat there for two hours, surrounded by other vehicles, until authorities were able to push motorists back to the next intersection, where they could get onto the North Bridge to exit the bridges.

“It was really foggy. As cars passed me, I watched them until they disappeared into the fog,” Hendry said. “There should have been a convoy.”

“Fortunately I was not involved in the accident,” she added.

Multiple emergency services on both sides of Lake Pontchartrain responded to the accident scenes. The westbound lanes of the Bonnet Carre Spillway were also closed around 10 a.m. due to thick fog.

Dufrechou said there was fog, which likely contributed to the chaos. There were six accidents, two southbound and four northbound.

The first accident occurred around 8:30 a.m. near mile marker 18 southbound, where traffic is heaviest in the morning. Two minutes later, an accident occurred on the northbound side, approximately near where the southbound accident had occurred.

“I can’t tell if it was fog or elastic. Probably both,” Dufrechou said.

Then, just minutes later, there was a third accident, this one near the 8-mile marker on the north side, he said.

“It’s bad,” Dufrechou said. “A Causeway police officer was struck from behind in the accident. And one of my MAP (Motorist Assistance Patrol) vehicles was also hit from behind.”

Now comes the cleanup.

A row of green cones blocked the entrance to the Causeway later that morning, as did a white truck in which a man appeared to be reporting news on the radio. An emergency vehicle left the scene of the accident at 10:35 a.m. A sign above the entrance said the Causeway would be closed until noon and urged drivers to use an alternate route.

“It’s just going to take some time,” Dufrechou said, adding that one of the vehicles destroyed was an 18-wheeler. “That’s going to be the dinosaur we’re dealing with.”

Dufrechou said the fog was undoubtedly a factor, but driver error was also likely a culprit.

“Please pay attention to the road,” he said. “Whether you’re on the bridge or just walking to the corner store.”

Poet Wolfe contributed to this report.