East Cape gets some relief; 146 open to local traffic

Traveling is a little easier for flood-weary residents of East Cape Girardeau, Illinois, now that a section of Route 146 has reopened.

Joe Aden, mayor of the village, said the Illinois Department of Transportation reopened “just one lane” of the route from East Cape Girardeau to the Mississippi River bridge Friday afternoon.

A signal light has been installed to regulate traffic flow on the one lane, Aden said.

The road remains closed from the village east to Route 3 as a result of the flooding, Aden said.

He said that section might reopen next week, but he doesn’t know for sure.

Aden said, however, the pavement that is open is good news for East Cape Girardeau residents who work in Cape Girardeau and elsewhere in Missouri.

For the past two weeks, they have traveled by boat, oversize trucks and by foot through water a foot deep or more in some places.

The Mississippi River, as of Saturday, has been above flood stage for a record-breaking 137 consecutive days, according to the National Weather Service.

The record for consecutive days above 32 feet at the local gauge was 125 set between June 10 and Oct. 12, 1993, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has tracked river levels along the Mississippi since the 1800s.

Friday afternoon, the river stood at just above 36 feet on the gauge, according to the Weather Service office in Paducah, Kentucky. That is still more than 4 feet above flood stage.

The river is not expected to drop below flood stage at Cape Girardeau until early August.

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