Broadway floodgate reopened; cleanup to begin today

Although it remains several feet above flood stage, the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau was low enough Monday morning to allow the reopening of the Broadway floodgate.

Although the Broadway gate is open, the floodgate at the foot of Themis Street remained closed. City officials say it will probably reopen by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. Both gates have been closed since mid-March.

Cape Girardeau parks division manager Brock Davis said although the Broadway gate is open, barricades have been set up to discourage people from “sightseeing” on the river side of the floodwall.

“It will be barricaded until the cleanup is done and we have a chance to remove mud and other debris from Riverfront Park,” Davis said. “We will probably start cleaning it Tuesday, weather permitting.”

The walking path along the river side of the floodwall extends just over a mile. Davis said he wouldn’t be surprised if some sections are caked with several inches of mud left by the river.

“Our goal is to get everything cleaned by the weekend,” he said.

As of Monday afternoon, the river gauge at Cape Girardeau stood at 35.3 feet, still more than 3 feet above the 32-foot flood stage, but 11 feet lower than its crest of 46.29 feet June 12.

According to the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky, the river is predicted to fall below 35 feet at Cape Girardeau by tonight and gradually drop under 32 feet by Aug. 4. By that time, the river will have been above flood stage a record 144 continuous days, 19 days longer than the previous record of 125 consecutive days set between June 10 and Oct. 12, 1993.

Meanwhile, across the river in Alexander County, Illinois, seep water inside the county’s levee system continues to drain. Illinois Route 3 between McClure and Gale remains closed along with Illinois Route 146 between East Cape Girardeau and Route 3.

However, the Illinois Department of Transportation opened one lane of Route 146 on Friday between East Cape Girardeau and the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge over the Mississippi River Bridge leading to Missouri.

Portable traffic signals on either side of the reopened lane control the flow of traffic, but an East Cape Girardeau resident who asked not to be identified said she and other residents of the town consider the signals more of a “suggestion” than a restriction.

“If there’s no one coming from the other direction, we go regardless,” she said.

A crew of city employees reopens the Broadway floodgate Monday at Riverfront Park in Cape Girardeau after remaining sealed shut for more than four months.BEN MATTHEWS