RAMAH, La. (AP) — In the closing hours of the Thanksgiving Day weekend, state police on Sunday reopened a stretch of Interstate 10 between Lafayette and Baton Rouge that has been closed since Nov. 15 because of a natural gas well blowout.

After receiving word that the well, located near a stretch of the elevated highway that passes through bayous, had been brought under control, troopers and highway workers removed cones and barricades and allowed traffic to move through on both directions at 7 p.m.

The 55-mile corridor is part of a major route between Houston and New Orleans.

The blowout happened Nov. 15, when workers for Bridas Energy USA Inc. of The Woodlands, Texas, were drilling for a new well, and the pressure blew the line, which later erupted into flames.

State police initially expected to reopen the interstate within days of the blowout in the Atchafalaya Basin about 300 feet from the roadway. But Cudd Well Control of Houston, which was charged with capping the wells of Tuesday, later said it could take up until Dec. 4 to fix the problem.

But state police said Sunday that the well had been secured and remaining gas was sent to a flare to be burned off. Air monitoring showed the area was safe for motorists, authorities said.

The traffic disruption came at the heaviest travel time of the year, during the Thanksgiving holidays and with two large regional football games: the Bayou Classic between Grambling State and Southern University and the LSU-Arkansas game in Baton Rouge.

The closure caused some pileups and several minor accidents on alternative routes, in addition to slower business activity along Interstate 10, but no major accidents, state police said.

As a result of the blowout, the Louisiana Office of Conservation last week ordered a 120-day moratorium on drilling oil and gas wells within a quarter-mile of an interstate highway, effective Dec. 1. That came after Gov. Kathleen Blanco urged a review of policies following the closure of Interstate 10.