SANDBAGGERS BRACE FOR THE NEXT CREST; RECORD CREST OF 48.5 FEET EXPECTED HERE

Sandbaggers and other floodworkers Wednesday continued to shore up for next week's record 48.5-foot Mississippi River flood crest at Cape Girardeau.

The river here is continuing a slow rise again, having fallen 1.6 feet over the weekend following a breach of the Perry County levee near McBride.

On Wednesday, the river at Cape Girardeau was at 45.8 feet, up four-tenths of a foot from Tuesday. It was forecast to go to 46.1 feet today, 46.3 feet on Friday, and 46.5 feet on Saturday.

It is expected to crest Aug. 5 at Cape Girardeau at 48.5 feet, 16.5 feet above flood stage.

The Mississippi at St. Louis is still forecast to crest at 48 feet on Tuesday, 16 feet above flood stage.

A spokesman for the Corps of Engineer's Memphis District flood emergency office in Cape Girardeau said Wednesday there was no change in the condition of the mainstem levee south of Commerce or the Diversion Channel levee.

Work was to continue today to build a water berm over the main levee along the river at Mile 13 north of Buffalo Island, in southeast Scott County.

The Missouri Highway and Transportation Department was expected to complete work late Wednesday afternoon on its emergency task of raising Highway 177 where it crosses Scism Creek just north of the Cape Girardeau city limits. The creek is backed up by the Mississippi River, which is about 2 miles from the highway.

Joe McDaniel, highway department area maintenance supervisor at Jackson, said water from the creek came over the top of the road last week, trapping about 21 families who live along a section of the former Big Bend Road north of Twin Trees Park.

McDaniel said a 472-foot stretch of the highway was raised 3 feet above the existing roadway on Tuesday and Wednesday to keep the road open when the predicted 48.5-foot crest occurs. At one time last week the water over the road was almost 2 feet deep, he said.

"When the creek came over the highway last week, these people were literally trapped. They could not go south on Highway 177 towards Cape because it has several feet of water over it. They couldn't go north toward Egypt Mills because the water from Flora Creek was over the roadway."

McDaniel said a rock base has been laid on top of the roadway. Fine chat will be placed over the top of the rock and allowed to compact by traffic.

It has not been determined at this time if the raised section of the highway will be left after the water goes down, he said.

While plans were being made to raise the highway roadbed, McDaniel said the highway department stationed a semi-truck tractor near the low spot last week so residents could get back and forth from their homes to work.

"We had a 24-hour taxi service to help these people get in and out of their homes while the highway was covered with water," he explained. "We had some people who went to work at 4 a.m., and the rest came out to the truck a little later. We would take them back across the water in the afternoon.

Even though they can now leave their homes, the residents who live along the old section of Bend Road and work in Cape Girardeau must still drive about five miles north to Egypt Mills, then double back over the Upper Bend Road to North Cape Rock Drive; or go to Fruitland and take Route W south to Cape Girardeau.