Floodwaters won't go away soon

Flood-related closures of some Southeast Missouri roads that are forcing motorists to take alternate routes to work and other activities may be sticking around for awhile.

Levels on the rising Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau came close to cresting Tuesday, but the National Weather Service pushed back the predicted crest of 43 feet to today, as water flowed downstream more slowly than expected.

For the next several days, the river at Cape Girardeau will remain at "major stage" flooding, with water levels falling into the "moderate stage" flooding category by the weekend.

Along with several rural highways in Perry County, Highway 177 north of Cape Girardeau remains closed because of backwater flooding from the river. The highway also closed during severe floods in 2008, 2011 and 2013. A 100- to 150-foot section of the roadway near the city limits that dips slightly was covered in more than a foot of water Tuesday.

The highway is a well-traveled route for Cape Girardeau employees of companies such as Procter & Gamble, residents of several subdivisions and farms, and students and employees of the Nell Holcomb School District.

Janine Mayberry, a resident of Cedar Hill Lake Estates, stopped to look at the flooded area near a road barricade on the highway Tuesday afternoon with her son, Kaden, whom she was transporting to and from Cape Girardeau for an educational activity camp at Southeast Missouri State University.

Mayberry said the closure of the highway added about 10 minutes each way to the usual time it took her to drive from her home into the city, and she hoped the highway at some point could be adjusted to avoid flooding.

An average of 2,600 vehicles use the highway where it meets city limits, according to a traffic count from the Missouri Department of Transportation in 2013. The count, which is the most recent available, also showed an average of 830 vehicles per day travel the highway north of its intersection with Route V.

Mark Shelton, engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation's southeast region, said the flood-prone area of Highway 177 has been talked about by department representatives during the past four to five years, but a project hasn't made it to the agency's regional funding list because a fix hasn't been deemed a high enough priority by local planning partners.

He also said improvements to keep water from overtaking the highway during a flood would be a bigger undertaking than most people expect.

"It's not as simple as just raising the road," Shelton said. "If you were to do only that, the water is going to go other places, and you're putting water on somebody else. You have to do a lot more planning and work."

MoDOT also is in a crunch when it comes to paying for road and bridge construction and maintenance, as recent efforts to pass tax increases to fund department's activities have failed with voters and the state legislature.

Flood-affected streets also were seen Tuesday in Commerce, Missouri, and Thebes, Illinois. No damage to homes was occurring as of late Tuesday.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent address:

Highway 177, Cape Girardeau, MO

Thebes, IL

Commerce, MO