WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |State Police: I-10 Expected to be Closed Until Sunday Evening

State Police: I-10 Expected to be Closed Until Sunday Evening

State police announced Thursday night that Interstate 10 is expected to remain closed until Sunday night. A natural gas line exploded just a few hundred yards off the interstate, sending dangerous fumes and flames onto the highway Thursday afternoon around 4:30.

Traffic on I-10 westbound is being diverted to Highway 190, around that raging fire, at exit 415 in Port Allen. From Highway 415, motorists are being directed straight through to Interstate 49 at Opelousas.

We received a number of calls to the WAFB newsroom about the flames. Callers say they could see the glow in the sky for miles. The interstate is shut down near exit 135, which is the Ramah exit off I-10. We're told the pipeline exploded when workers with Britus Electric were trying to establish a new well a few hundred yards off Interstate 10.

"In doing so, the line over-pressurized, creating a leak. It, in turn, blew the line," says Trooper Johnny Brown. While no homes are evacuated, a few hunting trips are being cut short. "All the hunters in the area have been evacuated," Brown says. No homes were evacuated.

The I-10 shutdown happened right at rush hour Thursday, backing up traffic across the new bridge, and into Baton Rouge.

Reporter:  Greg Meriwether, WAFB 9NEWS