Freeway Lanes in Texas (Rita)

I'm watching the TV coverage of the evacuation from Texas in response to the storm Rita. And there is a lot of traffic to say the least. Cars are supposedly moving at 1 mile per hour. What appears to me as stupid is that the lanes of the freeway that head towards the opposite direction are totally empty.

Wouldn't it make sense if the authorities made these empty opposing lanes available for those who are evacuating? It would ease traffic in a big way if this were done.