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#WestSideHostages bumper stickers made in response to traffic woes

5 years 1 day 20 hours ago Wednesday, March 27 2019 Mar 27, 2019 March 27, 2019 10:12 PM March 27, 2019 in News
Source: WBRZ

ADDIS – Drivers sitting in hours-long traffic for days have resorted to venting through humor and bumper stickers.

“You have to laugh to keep from crying,” said Jennifer Barbier.

Barbier lives in Erwinville and works in Addis. A normal morning commute takes 30 minutes. Now, it’s an hour and a half.

“You're totally stressed before you get to work. You're tired and exhausted before you start your day,” said Barbier.

The Intracoastal Canal bridge is down to one lane southbound so crews can fix damage from a dump truck hitting the bridge. It's causing long delays, and making it hard for people on the west side to travel along LA-1 to get from town to town.

“I'm scared to go to Baton Rouge because I'm scared it will take me 3 to 4 hours to get back home,” said Barbier.

Drivers feeling trapped, unable to escape the traffic mess have come up with a name for those going through this – 'West Side Hostages.' Barbier is now turning that into a bumper sticker.

“It’s trying to find humor in a very frustrating situation,” she said.

Barbier is selling the bumper stickers for $3 at the State Farm off of LA-1 in Addis where she works. The laughable twist, some people who live in East Baton Rouge Parish also want the bumper stickers, but they can't get to Barbier without sitting in traffic.

“I'm considering mailing some out if that will help. I'm going to try to make a trip to Baton Rouge this weekend, in hopes that I'll make it back,” laughed Barbier.

It’s a lighthearted gesture. One to make their voices heard, until drivers get what they really want.

“Loops around our parish, another bridge or to expand our current bridge,” said Barbier.

Barbier posted about the bumper stickers online. With such a big response, she’s planning on making more over the weekend.

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