Page 9 - Interstate 44 News Today

Is live in valley park, missouri. whats it like there. >> its a very dangerous one tonight because the weather is freezing as is the water behind me. so anyone who did not heed the warnings of the that dan tore evacuation or any of the thousands of emergency workers who have to be near or on this water face a very life threatening situation. we are standing in front of the intersection of 44 and route 141, if you can see some the street signs poking out and some of the traffic lights, water has ...

Rare. some very strong wording coming from the nationl weather service in st. louis. wanting to emphasize out of the series of floods we had, interstate 44, interstate 55 and interstate 93 have been shutdown for a period of time. that never happened during the flood of 1993 in the same area or december flooding of 1982. so when you are trying to grasp the magnitude of this storm, understand we will no longer be comparing to the previous storms. this storm is the benchmark going forward. if there...

It might not be. leland: we find math in south along the mississippi from the arch. what is the situation right now? >> reporter: this road has become the front line of this flood battle because it is one of the last main roads open in this area allowing drivers to go north or south. this row is hanging on by a thread. a few feet of dry road left in which these drivers can head north or south because interstate 55 directly parallel to us is closed in both directions and 150 road closures in this...

Worst youre expecting. >> so in missouri, we have received anywhere from 10 inches to a foot of rape over the last couple of days. and were dealing with rising rivers all across the state of missouri. we currently have over 225 roads that are closed in the state and our worst situation is that interstate 44 is closed in the middle of the state. and were expecting a spot on interstate 44 to close in st. louis before morning. and those two closures op interstate 44 are making it not only very diff...

Valley park. jennifer gray is there. you heard elena. two feet higher than the 93 flood. what are we expecting where you are? >> we should break the record by about three feet here we are expected to crest between 6:00 a.m. tonight and tomorrow morning. we are already at 40 and expected to go to 43 by tonight. it is a little misleading because it is not raining at all and you think of floods, you think of rain. but the waters are still rising all around here. and will continue to do so for the n...

We put the barricades up on purpose, to keep people out. were working crocely with the police, the highway patrol to keep people out of those areas. >> the department of transportation relies on partners and other agencies to make sure the closures go off without a hitch and get people where they need to go. what are your biggest challenges right now? >> well, right now, since i-44 closed last night at 2:00, is trying to route those people around and trying to get them to roads -- the truckers, ...

Its really been difficult. >> it has been difficult. its a real challenge, rerouting all of those people, especially when you consider that i-44 is a major trucking route. we know theres some 100,000 vehicles that go through there per day. a ten-mile stretch of that is closed. how are you managing to route people to safety? >> thats the tricky part. its closed in two places. one in midmissouri and last night at 2:00 it closed in st. louis. a lot of our detour routes are also closed. were trying ...

Interstate 44 is closed in the middle of the state kind of near rala, missouri, and we are expecting a spot on interstate 44 to close in st. louis before morning. and those two closures on interstate 44 are making it not only very di to get around missouri but also very difficult for travel rs trying to get through -- travellers trying to get through our state and travel in the midwest, the ability to get from, say, illinois to oklahoma. so were having a tough time dealing with truck traffic and...

Water has been rising all morning long. we are have been here since 5:00 this morning local time, and look at that. look at the bridge and the overpass, and that is interstate 44 and the wa water is up to -- the water is up to the overpass. and perpendicular is high wway . you can see the highway $141 photo signs here, ap i took this before the sun came up, and there were arrows, another sign underneath the 141 sign that was completely above the water, and now, completely under, so it is going t...

>> and earlier cnn talked with the missouri department of transportation about how the floodwaters are affecting the roads there. >> were dealing with rising rivers all across the state of missouri. we currently have over 225 roads that are closed in the state and our worst situation is the interstate 44 is closed in the middle of the state, near rala, missouri, and we are expecting a spot on 44 to close in the st. louis before morning, and those two closures on interstate 44 are making it not o...