Grafton and Alton are both functioning in normal fashion with only a few exceptions, despite being surrounded by high Mississippi River waters.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
The Hog Pitt in Grafton is closed today due to being surrounded by water. Other businesses in Grafton remain open.
Chris Sullivan, Grafton’s Police chief, said the high is projected at 26.5 feet near the community on Sunday or Monday.
“If the projections hold and the hurricane remnants stay South of 64 and God shines his light down on us, it won’t get any deeper,” he said. “Virtually everything in town is open except the Hog Pitt. The roads are still open with some water in traffic lanes. The projections are 26.5 will remain for only a short period of time and then the water should be off the highway completely by Thursday evening.”
The Illinois Department of Transportation announces the closure of additional area highways due to flooding: Illinois 100 through Grafton between Illinois Route 3 and Ski Lift Road, Marine-St. Jacob Road in Madison County and the Brussels Ferry between Jersey and Calhoun Counties. The Golden Eagle Ferry is also closed down due to water issues.
At this time, both U.S. 67 at the Clark Bridge and Illinois 100 North of Alton should remain open, Joe Monroe, a spokesperson for Illinois Department of Transportation District 8 said. “However, the department will continue to monitor the roadways along with all others within the 11 counties of District 8 throughout the weekend.
“We will provide updates to significant changes, as warranted, when developments occur,” Monroe said.
Close to Alton on the Great River Road, the Mississippi River is high on the banks near the road.
Calhoun County Sheriff Bill Heffington and his staff are closely monitoring the water situation in his county. He said he hopes the high water will not stay up long.
“Right now, Golden Eagle is shut down and the Brussels Ferry was shut down at 6 Friday evening,” he said. “The only way out of Hardin is through Pike County, Winfield, Mo., or the Joe Page Bridge. Hopefully the water will go down. The heavy rain did do damage to the crops and ditches. The Kampsville Ferry is still running. I don’t think it will be taken out. The water is falling at Winfield, Mo., already.”
Heffington stressed the fruit-picking season will begin soon and he hopes for the growers the water falls. Several days of not being able to get in the fields can be devastating to them, he said.
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 weekend.
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
