Perry County bridge to close by Tuesday, joins list of other closures

The Chester Bridge in Perry County is scheduled to be added to the list of area roadways made impassable by rising floodwaters.

The bridge, which passes over the Mississippi River as part of Highway 51, will close at noon Tuesday. The Missouri Department of Transportation did not specify when the bridge will reopen.

Scores of roadways across the southern half of Missouri are now closed, according to records from MoDOT, almost all because of flooding.

Cape Girardeau County hasn't seen as many road closures as some surrounding counties, but two roads are already flooded.

Route A from Route U to County Road 255, as well as South Kingshighway from Route 74 to the diversion channel, are both closed.

Route E in Scott County, Routes E and A in Perry County and Route H in Bollinger County are also closed, with more expected to close as flooding worsens. The Mississippi River is expected to crest on Saturday at a record-setting 48.5 feet.

The precipitation guage at Cape Girardeau was temporarily down Sunday and Monday, but meteorologists from the National Weather Service have observed higher-than-normal rainfall.

"With the combined rainfall this month, we're over the typical December rainfall levels in the quadstate area," said meteorologist Brittany Peterson.

From Wednesday to Saturday, Cape Girardeau saw about an inch and a half of rain, and considerably more unmeasured precipitation through the weekend. Peterson estimated that two to four inches of rain fell while the guage was out.

Poplar Bluff had received 4 inches by Sunday night, Marble Hill had roughly 5 by 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon, and Peterson said that an inch of rain fell in Poplar Bluff in a three-hour window, which is notable.

"It's very impressive," she said. "We don't see that too often."

Peterson said that while local rainfall is playing a significant part in the flooding, so is rainfall upstream.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573)388-3627