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Gulf States Gumbo
Gulf States Gumbo

Traffic and crashes around the world’s biggest data center

By Gulf States Newsroom staff
Published November 21, 2025 at 5:00 AM CST
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A dump truck drives past Holly Ridge Elementary School in Holly Ridge, Louisiana, on Friday, October 17, 2025. The school is less than a mile away from the construction site of Meta’s new data center, Hyperion. Officials shut down the playground in front of the school because of safety concerns related to the truck traffic.
Dylan Hawkins for the Gulf States Newsroom
A dump truck drives past Holly Ridge Elementary School in Holly Ridge, Louisiana, on Friday, October 17, 2025. The school is less than a mile away from the construction site of Meta’s new data center, Hyperion. Officials shut down the playground in front of the school because of safety concerns related to the truck traffic.

On this week’s episode, we’re taking a look at data centers. Tech company Meta says it’s building the largest data center in the world — in Richland Parish, Louisiana.

Since construction started, residents have been dealing with an onslaught of traffic — dump trucks and 18-wheelers heading to the site using two-lane country highways. An investigation from the Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins found the increased truck traffic is also causing more crashes.

This episode is hosted by Joseph King. The podcast is produced by Drew Hawkins, Kat Stromquist, Elise Gregg, Orlando Flores Jr. and Ryan Vasquez. Nellie Beckett is our community engagement producer. Joseph King is our social producer. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

To get in touch with the team, email connect@gulfstatesnewsroom.org.

And support our local station partners by donating to WWNO, MPB, or WBHM.

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An 18-wheeler drives by the playground at Holly Ridge Elementary School in Holly Ridge, Louisiana, on Friday, October 17, 2025. The school shut down the playground this year over safety concerns due to trucks heading to the Meta construction site, less than a mile away from the school.
Local & Regional News
Construction on Meta’s largest data center brings 600% crash spike, chaos to rural Louisiana
Drew Hawkins
An investigation from the Gulf States Newsroom found that trucks contracted to work at the Meta facility are causing delays and dangerous roads in Holly Ridge.

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