Thought of this while viewing another thread - is it better to take an Interstate for hurricane evacuation (or in the case of Louisiana, a four-lane rural US highway) and get fuel at exits with 8-10 fueling stations, or take a lonely country road and get fuel at a smaller station? I went along I-10, then La 415 to US 190 to get to my house during Isaac evacuation (my normal commute to work) and saw huge lines at large stations. The next day, I took River Road to La 1, then La 1 to La 10 to get home, and found tiny stations with prices still at pre-evacuation prices, but some had fuel and some didn't. What's the actual best way to evacuate?
By the way, from New Orleans, I just took La 18 to La 44 to Old US 51 to US 51 and out of the state that way. VERY few cars, while I-10 and I-55 were backed up
Should be obvious that back roads are best in these cases, assuming you don't hit a bottleneck at a bridge. But yeah, try to fill up enough in advance that you're not finding a station on your way out.
Most people take the interstate to evacuate, knowing good and will it will be crowded.
The best route that's never taken by metro New Orleans is I-310 to La. 3127. It runs along the west bank of the Mississippi and ends just east of the Sunshine Bridge. Cross the bridge and you're in Donaldsonville, where you can take La. 70 to Morgan City and U.S. 90 or La. 1 to Port Allen and I-10.
There are gas stations on both sides of the Sunshine Bridge.