Mississippi on the rampage
Ice jam closes Highway 10 in Little Falls
LITTLE FALLS -Two bridges on Highway 10 over the Mississippi River north of Little Falls were closed Wednesday after rising water from the river washed away support material for one of the bridges.
Back
Rushing river water, backed up on the shore by a large ice jam between the bridges and Little Falls, had caused the earth next to the bridge over the overflow channel to erode within a matter of hours, said Gary Dirlam, Minnesota Department of Transportation District 3 assistant engineer for maintenance operations.
The erosion caused a cavern under the roadway next to the bridge deck that went back to about the center line of the eastbound lane. The Highway 10 bridge over the main channel of the Mississippi River appeared fine, Dirlam said.
A flood warning for the Mississippi River was issued by the National Weather Service in Duluth for Belle Prairie, Little Falls and Royalton.
Minnesota Department of Transportation crews Wednesday afternoon inspected the damage to a Highway 10 bridge over the Mississippi River in Little Falls. The supporting bank of the bridge was washed out by the flooding river, and officials said Highway 10 near the bridge would closed for the foreseeable future.
Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
WE SPOTTED: » Little Falls Flooding
It couldn't be determined on Wednesday when the bridges may re-open, but Dirlam said it could a while.
"We're looking at weeks rather than days," Dirlam said. "We've got to wait for the water to go down and, once we see the extent of the erosion, then our engineers will have to look at what it will take to repair that erosion and what the correct fix is so it doesn't occur again."
Westbound traffic is being routed from Highway 10 north to Highway 371, from Highway 371 to Highway 115 at Camp Ripley, from Highway 115 west into Randall and back onto Highway 10. Eastbound traffic is being routed at Randall to Highway 115, south on Highway 371 and back to Highway 10.
Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel said the sheriff's department on Wednesday received reports of water rising rapidly on the Mississippi River near Belle Prairie because of ice jams that had formed.
While no structural damage was reported, Wetzel said several residents along the river has septic systems back up into their basements.
Crews from the Little Falls Public Works Department shut down a portion of Mississippi Boulevard near the Grace Covenant Church and used sand and plastic to protect a pumping station for the city's sewer system.
Minnesota Department of Transportation officials on Wednesday afternoon watched as an embankment on a overflow channel bridge over the Mississippi River slowly eroded because of flooding river water. The erosion forced MnDOT to close Highway 10 at the overflow channel bridge and at the main channel bridge.
Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
WE SPOTTED: » Little Falls Flooding
Wetzel and Little Falls Public Works contacted Minnesota Power and Light, which operates the Little Falls dam, and requested that as much water as possible be allowed through the dam. MP&L officials told the sheriff's department that they were allowing as much flow as they could under federal regulations, which strictly govern the water level in the pool north of the Little Falls dam, Wetzel said.
Byron Smith, who lives just north of the Highway 10 bridges, has been keeping records of river levels for years. He also has records of river flow records going back to the 1920s.
"I've seen it this high once before," Smith said. "It didn't get as high this time in front of our house, though, as it did last year. It depends on the ice blockage. ... Last year, the ice was thicker than ever. It came through in huge cakes. This year, the ice was already porous. It's not causing any problems."
Smith said his home on the river would probably stay safe. The closest the river has come to his house is about two feet, he said. Still, Smith said he always takes precautions.
"I moved the cardboard boxes in my basement this morning," Smith said. "I don't leave anything on the floor."
Down the river and into Little Falls, hundreds of residents gathered along the river to watch the ice jam slowly make its way down the river.
At Riverside Park, the ice and water Wednesday afternoon crept within a foot of several unoccupied townhomes along the Mississippi River. At the nearby railroad bridge, ice crushed toward the rail deck. Little Falls firefighters stood on each end of the railroad bridge to keep onlookers from walking onto the bridge.
Jan Ouren, who lives near the Highway 10 bridges over the Mississippi River, had stopped to watch the ice near the park. She said the ice jam damaged her dock and some steps before moving out Wednesday afternoon.
Onlookers stood late Wednesday afternoon near the railroad bridge over the Mississippi River in Little Falls to get a look an ice jam building on the river. Hundreds of people lined the shores of the river in Little Falls to watch the packed ice make its way south toward the Little Falls Dam, while the ice created flooding to the north.
Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
WE SPOTTED: » Little Falls Flooding
"These were things that normally would have been safe in a normal year. Even last year it stored in the same place and there was no problem," Ouren said. "Two in a row, that's enough for me. I guess the dock needs to go somewhere else next winter."
In a hazardous weather outlook issued Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Chanhassen reported runoff from recent precipitation and melting snow was expected to continue to filter into area streams and creeks, leading to further rises in river levels. Also, Ice jams were expected to continue to cause minor flooding in isolated areas along area rivers.
On Tuesday, an ice jam on the Crow Wing River near Pillager caused flooding of several cabins and houses on both the Morrison County and Cass County sides of the river. One woman, whose house was surrounded by the swollen river, was rescued by Pillager firefighters.
The Crow Wing River peaked at 9.14 feet early Wednesday, about 3 inches below the record high, but no ice jams were reported.
At Fort Ripley, the Mississippi River on Wednesday reached 9.71 feet, just inches short of the 10-foot flood stage. The river at Fort Ripley was expected to crest at 9.8 feet before falling Saturday.
WE SPOTTED: » Little Falls Flooding
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.