Flooding is making travel from southeast Iowa to Illinois very difficult. A levee break, early Tuesday morning, led to the closure of the Great River Bridge, which connects Burlington, Iowa and Gulfport, Illinois.
The bridge between Fort Madison, Iowa and Niota, Illinois also had to be closed to traffic because of the flooding. Lee County Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Cirinna says it could be a while before that bridge re-opens.
Cirinna says the problem is managing the approach to the bridge because of the way the water comes in. A third bridge, connecting Keokuk, Iowa and Hamilton, Illinois, continues to close or be reduced to one lane, with significant delays, so its entrance can be elevated. If all three bridges remain closed for an extended period of time… drivers heading from Southeast Iowa to Illinois could have to travel to Quincy, Illinois or the Quad Cities to make it across the swollen Mississippi River.