COLLINSVILLE – As of Monday morning, there is moderate flooding in the area which is causing some road closures.
Riverbender.com will release any Illinois Department of Transportation updates as soon as they come throughout the flood development.
The Illinois Department of Transportation on Saturday afternoon announced two current road closures due to flooding within District 8: Illinois 96 in Calhoun County near Mozier and the Brussels Ferry.
Grafton Maintenance Supervisor Jay Wrubel said Illinois 3 at Illinois 100 is closed with barricades, but local traffic is still open in Grafton. He said he understood the barricades because semis do have problems when the water is at the current levels. As of 9:30 a.m. Monday, the National Weather Service reported river levels of 24.9 feet at Grafton. Flood stage is 18 feet in Grafton and right now, Wrubel said the expectation is for moderate flooding, with a high of 25.3 feet projected. He said in about three days the water levels should start dropping.
“We only expect it to rise another 5 inches,” Wrubel said. “IDOT has placed rock on the road west of the old Boys School. Grafton is open for business. We want people to continue to visit the new grocery store and all the other businesses. We have a flood route and the village is open from one end to the other.”
The river level at the Melvin Price Lock and Dam is reported at 26.69 feet as of 9:30 a.m. Monday. Flood stage at the Mel Price Lock and Dam area is 21 feet. The Illinois River at Hardin is reported at 29.55 feet at 9:30 a.m. with a flood stage of 25 feet and St. Louis is reporting a 32.37 river level with a 30 feet flood stage.
IDOT said it will continue monitoring State roadways in the affected areas of Illinois. Flooding has or will require the closure of State Highways and Ferries along the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers as well as several creeks and streams. Over the next several days, we will provide updates, as warranted, when developments occur.
IDOT said traffic control devices and directional signage, including dynamic message boards, have been deployed to guide motorists safely around major closures. Travelers are advised to consider alternate routes or allow additional time to travel known flood-prone areas. Regardless, all motorists are urged to be patient, reduce speed and exercise added caution throughout the Metro East region – as traffic patterns and travel times will likely be affected.
Since this is a very dynamic situation, please see the Department’s website: http://www.idot.illinois.gov/home/Comm/emergency-road-closures for the latest information on roadway closures throughout Illinois. Detailed information on the Metro East is also available at http://apps.dot.illinois.gov/stl-traffic/. For IDOT District 8 updates on Twitter, please follow them at https://twitter.com/IDOTDistrict8.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
