Mississippi River reopening after floods
ST. LOUIS -
Two bridges - one at Quincy, Ill., the other at Louisiana, Mo. -
were scheduled to reopen on Wednesday now that floodwaters no
longer lap over the bridge approaches. A highway reopened near
Hannibal, Mo.
On the waterway itself, the Army Corps of Engineers was
preparing to reopen three navigation locks that have been closed
for several days.
At many places from Iowa south through St. Louis, the river was
dropping at a pace of about a foot a day. Some residents returned
home to assess damage in the neighboring towns of Winfield and
Foley, two of Missouri's most devastated communities.
Rebecca Bauer was in no hurry to see what the floodwaters did to
her home. It was among about 100 flooded on Saturday, a day after a
levee broke at Winfield. The National Guard built a makeshift
barrier around the homes, but it, too, was breached.
Bauer had no idea how much water got inside, how much damage
there was, how much would be salvageable.
"I figure whatever's there, we'll take care of it," Bauer
said.
The bridge reopening was especially good news in the town of
Louisiana. The span's closure on June 15 forced people to drive 60
miles out of their way to get to the other side of the river.
Quincy has two bridges, and one remained open during the flood.
Missouri 79 reopened south of Hannibal but was still closed in
parts of Pike and Lincoln counties.
The flood forced the closure of locks at the Missouri towns of
Clarksville and Winfield, and the Kaskaskia Lock near Chester, Ill.
The corps plans to reopen the Clarksville and Winfield locks by
Friday, and the Kaskaskia lock by Monday. Those plans are based on
current forecasts and could change if unexpected rain should cause
a rise in the river.
A few places are just hitting high-water marks. The river
crested Wednesday in Cape Girardeau at 10.5 feet above flood stage,
leading officials to shut a section of Missouri 177. The
Mississippi was expected to crest 12.6 feet above flood stage in
Chester, Ill., early Thursday. But no major damage is expected in
either town.