After a few weeks of being on the rise, the Mighty Mississippi is expected to stop swelling this week in the Queen City.
The Mississippi River on the Greenville gage is expected to crest at 51.3 feet Friday, which is a few feet higher than its 48-foot flood stage.
Currently, Lower Lake Ferguson is flooded and goes under when the Greenville gage is at 44 feet. Upper Lake Ferguson Road is also flooded and goes under when the gage reaches 50 feet. Warfield Point Park is also closed as a result of the flooding and will remain closed until the river lowers to 46 feet, at which time crew members will go into the park and check for any damages before reopening to the public.
Helena, Arkansas, will crest at 44 feet on Thursday; Arkansas City, Arkansas, is cresting today at 39.5 feet on Friday; and Vicksburg is expected to crest at 47.8 feet by Saturday.
Highway 465 near Eagle Lake on the unprotected side of the levee is flooded – it goes underwater at Vicksburg Gage 46.5 feet — and was closed by the Mississippi Department of Transportation on Feb. 23. Heavy trucks and equipment must take Highway 61 north up to Onward, then west on Highway 1, then south on Highway 465 along the top of the Mainline Mississippi River Levee to access Eagle Lake.
Other road closures include Blanton Road, Spanish Fort Road, Goose Lake Road and Low Water Bridge Road.
As of Tuesday, the Steele Bayou Structure Gates remained open and there are over 454,000 acres underwater in the Mississippi South Delta, including 171,000 acres of cropland.
The Yazoo Backwater is predicted to crest between 95.5 and 96 feet. At 96 feet, there will be 470,000 total acres, including 183,000 acres of cropland, under water.
According to a report sent by the Mississippi Levee Board, if the Yazoo Backwater Pumps were in place, the Pumps would have lowered the crest by 5.3 feet down to 88 feet instead of cresting at 93.3’ on Feb. 2. And, instead of 380,000 acres flooded, the Pumps would have prevented 154,000 acres from flooding, lowering the total land flooded to 226,000 acres.
