NORTON - If a major hurricane ever strikes New England the way the famous 1938 storm did, Norton residents won't be evacuated using the two interstate highways.

Fire Chief Richard Gomes predicted Interstate 495 heading north will be a popular escape route for Cape Cod and Fairhaven and Fall River traffic.

Similarly, "Everybody from Fall River and Rhode Island will be coming up I-95."

For that reason, Norton's newest evacuation plan has residents taking, for example, Oak Street north toward Mansfield, Gomes told selectmen recently.

Selectmen approved the evacuation plan, designed by the fire and Norton Emergency Management Agency departments. The plan is part of Norton's revised emergency management plan, which the town is required to file by Dec. 31, Gomes said.

"We'd like to keep as many people as we can out of the center of town," Gomes said. "If they follow the routes as we designed them, traffic never crosses at the center of town.

"If we need to evacuate, we can't send everyone south, because they'll be heading toward tidal surges," he said. "There is no easy way out of this town."

Gomes said Norton also must prepare to staff emergency shelters for both residents and travelers.

"The problem here is the problem south of us," he said.

Maps will be posted at the fire station and at the Norton Public Library, Gomes said. Gomes also hopes to have an electronic copy available online at the fire department's Web site.

"It's going to be a lot easier to visualize this than to read it and understand it," the chief said.