“We always urge people never to drive through water over the roadway no matter how much it is,” Lincoln County Emergency Management Director Adam Stanek said. “Water rescues put bot the motorist at risk, as well as the responders we have to now send out to rescue them.”
Even as the floodwaters recede from the roadways, he said, road crews will still need to remove debris and mud which make the roads more dangerous to drive on.
The stubborn rain should leave the area as the Fourth of July weekend approaches, Elmore said.
Lincoln County emergency officials reported a dozen or more road closures Saturday, including Missouri Highway 47 between Troy, Missouri, and Hawk Point, and U.S. Highway 61 just south of Troy, at the St. Charles County line. Highway 61 reopened later in the day, but state Highways H and BB closed.
The Missouri Department of Transportation on Saturday reported road closures stretching across mid-Missouri from Kansas City to St. Louis. The Jefferson City Fire Department rescued at least a dozen motorists stranded by floods Friday, KMIZ-TV reported.
NWS meteorologist Jayson Gosselin said a “pesky front” was hanging around, creating a chance for more rain.