The Latest: Georgia’s one-way Irma escape route short-lived

Michelle Wright, 50, arrives in her wheelchair joining hundreds of local residents being evacuated from the city at the Savannah Civic Center during a mandatory evacuation from Hurricane Irma on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, in Savannah, Ga. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Michelle Wright, 50, arrives in her wheelchair joining hundreds of local residents being evacuated from the city at the Savannah Civic Center during a mandatory evacuation from Hurricane Irma on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, in Savannah, Ga. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

By Associated Press September 9, 2017 4 min read

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – The Latest on how Southeast states are preparing for Hurricane Irma (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

Georgia officials have decided a one-way escape route for coastal residents fleeing Hurricane Irma isn’t needed after all.

State troopers had all lanes of Interstate 16 heading westbound out of Savannah on Saturday morning. But traffic on the route was light and Gov. Nathan Deal ordered that eastbound lanes return to normal use just eight hours later.

Officials adjusted the evacuation plan for Irma as forecasts shifted the storm’s predicted path further westward. Forecasts call for Irma’s center to arrive far inland in southern Georgia on Monday after it churns up the west coast of Florida.