PONCHATOULA- The Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival is expected to bring over 350,000 visitors to the city.

The annual celebration will take place April 13 through April 15.

Police expect increased traffic will quickly overload surrounding interstate systems to cause backups from heavily congested off ramps and forcing intermittent closures of interstate exits. In an effort to improve the flow of traffic and ensure that everyone has a safe festival weekend, state police are urging drivers to follow the following alternate route advisories when entering and leaving the Ponchatoula area:

From Baton Rouge: Exit Interstate 12 Eastbound at Pumpkin Center exit #35, proceed south to LA 22, then continue east on LA 22 into Ponchatoula.

From Covington / Slidell: Exit Interstate 12 Westbound at LA 445 exit #47, proceed south to LA 22, then continue west on LA 22 into Ponchatoula.

From Mandeville: Take LA 22 west into Ponchatoula.

From New Orleans area: Take the Causeway Bridge into Mandeville and proceed to LA 22 west into Ponchatoula.