Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
The Illinois Department of Transportation announced the intersection of Illinois Route 100 at U.S. 67 is closed this morning in Alton due to the rising Mississippi River. Alton Police Department said as of 3:30 p.m. today the Great River Road is closed from Alton to Clifton Terrace until further notice due to flooding.
The Alton Police advised motorists plan their time accordingly with the closure. As of 10 a.m. Monday, the Great River Road remained open to Grafton.
The current forecast also suggests Illinois Route 100 between Alton and Grafton could be closed this weekend due to the rising Mississippi River. However, IDOT said it plans to monitor the highway and all other flood prone roadways within the 11 counties of District 8 throughout the duration of the flood.
At noon today, the Mississippi River was at 31.72 feet at Alton and it was 31.16 at 10:30 a.m., so it was still rising. Major flooding in Alton occurs when the Mississippi River is 34 feet and above. Keep track of water levels on RiverBender.com.
Alton Fire Chief Bernie Sebold said the river levels are more the problem now than the rain. Sebold is the flood coordinator for the City of Alton.
“If we get a lot of rain up north, it is a problem,” he said. “Rain here causes creeks to swell and storm drains to get overwhelmed because they already have a lot of water. We are watching what is going on and cautiously monitoring things. If it gets much higher, it will be an issue with State and Broadway in Alton.”
Ardent Mills had a few workers filling sand bags on Monday morning. Sebold said Ardent Mills started sandbagging already last week to keep its loading docks from getting water. He speculated today the workers were doing supplemental sandbagging for the business.
Water flowed over the sidewalk at Ardent Mills and into the road Monday morning.
These area highways remain closed: Illinois Route 155 near Prairie Du Rocher, Water Street (Illinois Route 3 Truck By Pass) and Kaskaskia Street in Chester, Illinois Route 3 between Chester and Grimsby in Randolph and Jackson Counties, Brussels Ferry between Jersey and Calhoun Counties, Illinois Route 100 from Illinois Route 3 to Illinois Route 16 through Grafton. Route 100 between Hardin and Kampsville, Illinois Route 3 in Grafton, and IL Route 100 through Pearl in Pike County.
Two-way traffic remains available on the elevated lanes of US 67 only in West Alton, MO.
All of the currently closed roads in District 8 are expected to remain shut through at least Thursday evening. IDOT will provide updates to significant changes, as warranted.
Traffic control devices and directional signage, including dynamic message boards have been deployed to assist motorists in safely navigating around major closures. Travelers are advised to consider alternate routes and avoid known closures. Additional travel times should be expected throughout the region. All motorists are urged to be patient as travel times and patterns will be affected throughout the week.
Since this is a very dynamic situation, please see the Department’s website, www.idot.illinois.gov, for the latest information on roadway closures throughout Illinois. Detailed information on the MetroEast is also available at www.stl-traffic.org.
For local updates via twitter, please follow us at https://twitter.com/IDOTDistrict8.
Current flood levels are available here: http://www.riverbender.com/waterlevels/.
Current weather with interactive radar can be found here: http://www.riverbender.com/weather/
More like this:
