SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (AP) — Crews cleaning up southern Illinois roads that have been submerged for weeks under floodwaters are using fire hoses and snowplows to clear the roadways of mud, slime and debris.
Illinois Department of Transportation Region 5 Operations Engineer Joseph Monroe tells the Belleville News-Democrat that mud was caked on so thickly in some areas of Grafton and Alton that workers needed a fire hose and snowplow to remove it.
Monroe says most of the damage to roads so far has been erosion of shoulders. As currents, winds and storms push the water around the surface, material may be pulled away from the sides of the road.
Meanwhile, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has activated an additional 80 Illinois National Guard troops for flood-fighting efforts in southern Illinois.
The governor’s office said Thursday about 140 Guard troops now are being used for sandbagging operations, levee monitoring and security in East Cape Girardeau, McClure and Gale.
It says state agencies have moved more than 150,000 sandbags, more than two dozen pumps, and other flood-fighting tools to the area to keep evacuation routes open. However, due to inland flooding, both Illinois Route 3 and Illinois Route 146 in the immediate area of East Cape Girardeau are no passable.
The Ohio River is among the streams flooding in the region.