Illinois highway workers reopen all lanes of routes 3, 146

Illinois highway workers were able to reopen all lanes of Illinois routes 3 and 146 in Alexander County on Monday as seep water trapped within the county’s levee system continued to drain back into the Mississippi River.

All four lanes of Route 146 between East Cape Girardeau, Illinois, and Route 3 had been closed since early July as well as northbound Route 3 between 146 and McClure, Illinois. Route 3 from 146 south to Gale, Illinois, was closed even longer with some of the pavement submerged beneath more than a foot of water.

Keith Miley, chief of operations for District 9 of the Illinois Department of Transportation, said crews completed most of the mud and silt removal from the highways Monday morning and were able to reopen the last remaining section of Routh 3 north of Gale by noon Monday.

Preparations for reopening Route 3 began late last week as the water receded from the pavement.

A truck stuck in a ditch along Illinois Route 146 is seen Monday, July 29, 2019, near East Cape Girardeau, Illinois.Jay Wolz

“We did some cleaning south of 146 toward Gale on Friday, but there was still too much water on the road so we finished it up this morning,” Miley said Monday afternoon shortly after barricades were removed.

Despite the cleaning, a thin layer of dried mud remained on the pavement in a few areas Monday, making some of the highway striping difficult to see. “Maybe some showers will help wash some of the silt off down there,” Miley said.

Although the roads have reopened, farmland on either side of the highways resembled rice paddies Monday afternoon. Some acres remain under as much as 4 to 5 feet of water, enough to completely cover fences in the fields.

Meanwhile, in East Cape Girardeau, the remaining 30 members of the Illinois Army National Guard were preparing Monday to leave the area at 8 a.m. today. The National Guard has been deployed in the East Cape Girardeau area since mid-June. At one time, more than 120 members of various Illinois guard units were stationed in East Cape Girardeau, building sandbag levees and manning pumps trying to keep the town as dry as possible.

“I’ve been here since June 22,” said one guardsman from Decatur, Illinois, adding while he was glad to help protect the community, “it’s time for us to head home.”

Motorists cross over the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge on Monday into East Cape Girardeau, Illinois.Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

The Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau has been above flood stage since March 13, 140 days ago, surpassing the previous record of 125 consecutive days above flood stage set between June 10 and Oct. 12, 1993.

After reaching its fifth-highest recorded crest of 46.29 feet June 12, the river had fallen to 33.5 feet Monday afternoon. the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky, is forecasting it will drop below flood stage by late Friday.