Flooding in Upper Midwest

[Victrola1]

There have been news reports of massive rains and flooding in the upper midwest. Some local media outlets are making comaprisons to the massive floods of 1993.

Is this likely to cause route closings and reroutes?

 

 

[eolafan]

Not even close to the 1993 flooding, not even close...but bad enough just the same.

[blhanel]

If we don't get out of this rainy pattern, though, it could reach that level.  The Coralville Reservoir south of Cedar Rapids is rising in spite of the Corps opening the outlet to the point that there's flooding in Iowa City.  It won't take much more before it's running over the spillway on the dam, something which happened only once before- 1993.  Given the heavy rains in northern Iowa over the weekend, it's beginning to look inevitable.

[Victrola1]

U. S. Army Corps site shows the Cedar River cresting at 21.5' on Thursday. Will that affect the Union Pacific?

I was thinking the cut off on the south side of Cedar Rapids goes under at this level. If it does, can the U. P. still get through via the old passenger route through downtown? 

 

[jeffhergert]

It may not be as bad as 1993, but it won't take much to get there. At least in Iowa.

The UP is closed in western Iowa.  A couple of washouts around Woodbine and Logan when a levee broke on the Boyer River.  Flood gates across the tracks at Denison were closed, don't know if those have reopened, but the washouts aren't expected to be repaired until tomorrow morning.  A UP detour over the Iowa Interstate was stopped at Anita, Iowa when the IAIS track went under water east of there.

Track 1 east of Montour, Iowa is under water, Track 2 may be closed by now.  When I went thru about 430 AM, water was over the ties, but not the rail.  A track inspector protecting that location said the water was still rising.

A bridge at Elkhorn, Nebraska is out.  93 cars of ballast are supposed to have been ordered for it's repair.

As I was leaving, a conductor said that one of the piers under construction on the new high bridge has shifted by about 3 1/2 inches.

Truly, when it rains, it pours. 

Jeff

   

[blhanel]

U. S. Army Corps site shows the Cedar River cresting at 21.5' on Thursday. Will that affect the Union Pacific?

If it gets that high (which would be an all-time record, BTW), it will affect EVERYTHING in downtown Cedar Rapids.

I was thinking the cut off on the south side of Cedar Rapids goes under at this level. If it does, can the U. P. still get through via the old passenger route through downtown?

I seriously doubt it.  Judging from my perception, the transcon has no grade whatsoever from the Cedar River bridge all the way over to the Bertram crossovers- am I correct, Jeff?  If the bridge goes under, that whole stretch will be under.  In that case, detouring over the passenger route won't help.

[Victrola1]

http://www2.mvr.usace.army.mil/WaterControl/new/layout.cfm

This site does not project out too far out on crests. All that water going down small streams eventually hits the big streams. If it keeps raining, I wonder if Mississippi river crossings may be flooded next?  

 

[Los Angeles Rams Guy]

Just read in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about flooding in SE Minnesota again; this time Houston County to be exact and also in NE Iowa in Allamakee County with the Upper Iowa River as well which leads me to believe that parts of the ICE mainline have been hit.  The Root River runs into the Mississippi just south of La Crescent and the Upper Iowa does the same just south of New Albin.  Anyone know for sure?

Wow, hard to believe that the former CNW portion of the "Overland Route" got hit in two places in western Iowa not to mention the IAIS near Anita as well.  Jeff/Brian, any chance at all that the UP (or others) might detour over all or parts of the CN's Iowa Division if this stuff keeps up? 

I remember '93 well as I was living in Coralville and my graduation from the U of Iowa that summer was flooded out.  Oh well, I still did manage to get my piece of paper in the mail.      

 

[blhanel]

With the Cedar getting that high, I suspect CN will have problems in Cedar Falls as well.  Any chance UP could detour on the BNSF through southern Iowa?

Timely story on KCRG...

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/19662114.html

[Murphy Siding]

      I saw a photo in the paper, where rain washed out a bridge or culvert on the BNSF between Yankton and Mitchell, S.D.  It's no wonder.  We've had about 2 days in the last month that didn't involve heavy rain.

[blhanel]

NOAA's prediction for Cedar Rapids- if you scroll down from the graph, you'll see a list of impacts for various levels.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=dvn&gage=cidi4&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1

EDIT: Also notice that the highest crest in 1993 only made to #4 on the all-time historical crests list, and the crest later this week will exceed that one by nearly two feet.

I think my camera will be busy later this week...

[jeffhergert]

U. S. Army Corps site shows the Cedar River cresting at 21.5' on Thursday. Will that affect the Union Pacific?

If it gets that high (which would be an all-time record, BTW), it will affect EVERYTHING in downtown Cedar Rapids.

I was thinking the cut off on the south side of Cedar Rapids goes under at this level. If it does, can the U. P. still get through via the old passenger route through downtown?

I seriously doubt it.  Judging from my perception, the transcon has no grade whatsoever from the Cedar River bridge all the way over to the Bertram crossovers- am I correct, Jeff?  If the bridge goes under, that whole stretch will be under.  In that case, detouring over the passenger route won't help.

You are pretty much correct Brian.  If water got over the Cedar River bridge, the original line (psgr line) would also be affected. 

Jeff 

[CrazyDelmar]

Upper Midwest? I think East Central Illinois and Central Indiana is having more problems 

[blhanel]

NOAA's prediction for Cedar Rapids has now been reduced to 21.2 feet.  Anyone know where that is in relation to the UP transcon's bridge deck?  Here's a shot of the bridge when the water is at a normal level.

EDIT:  Based on the effects listed on NOAA's site, the river level in this shot must've been below 8 feet.

[Modelcar]

....Yes, we're in central Indiana, and from here down....at many locations....there is terrible flooding.  In fact, just 10 min. ago I was looking at the forecast and the map was green {flooding}, from here all the way south here in Indiana.

[Ted Marshall]

You can bet that there will be some major delays and reroutes as a result of the horrible flooding.

 

[Los Angeles Rams Guy]

Just got wind a bit ago that the CPRS mainline between Milwaukee and Portage is closed; effectively knocking us out between Milwaukee and La Crosse for all intents and purposes.  For how long I haven't a clue.  The rerouting thing is going to be a tricky proposition to say the least since so many lines have been affected.

Anyone have any info on the ICE mainline from River Jct. (La Crescent) south toward Samoa/Sabula Jct.?  This would be an obvious 1st choice for CPRS if available.  

  

[MP173]

Saturday I drove from NW Indiana to Indy and hit the storm at Lafayette.  For 45 minutes it was as intense of rain as I recall.  Water everywhere. The papers the next day indicated southern Indiana was even worse, with up to 11 inches in a couple of areas.

CN has a UP empty coal train (PRB coal) parked between Valparaiso and Haskells this morning.  Putting 2 and 2 together it is obvious there are going to be considerable number of trains parked east of the Mississippi for awhile.  Hmmm, this could take awhile to sort out.  Hopefully the utilities have plenty of coal on hand. 

ed

[Anonymous]

U. S. Army Corps site shows the Cedar River cresting at 21.5' on Thursday. Will that affect the Union Pacific?

If it gets that high (which would be an all-time record, BTW), it will affect EVERYTHING in downtown Cedar Rapids.

I was thinking the cut off on the south side of Cedar Rapids goes under at this level. If it does, can the U. P. still get through via the old passenger route through downtown?

I seriously doubt it.  Judging from my perception, the transcon has no grade whatsoever from the Cedar River bridge all the way over to the Bertram crossovers- am I correct, Jeff?  If the bridge goes under, that whole stretch will be under.  In that case, detouring over the passenger route won't help.

If it gets that high, the CNW bridge across the Cedar downtown by Quaker Oats may be affected, if not the approach on the south side.  I can't recall the street there on the south bank near the CNW bridge ("A" Street?) but I know it flooded in 1993.  I remember those times well - I pitched-in at the public works building filling sandbags (me and my trench shovel).

According to KCRG, Otis Rd. between 44th St. & Bertram Rd. SE is now closed.

[Anonymous]

Just read in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about flooding in SE Minnesota again; this time Houston County to be exact and also in NE Iowa in Allamakee County with the Upper Iowa River as well which leads me to believe that parts of the ICE mainline have been hit.  The Root River runs into the Mississippi just south of La Crescent and the Upper Iowa does the same just south of New Albin.  Anyone know for sure?

Wow, hard to believe that the former CNW portion of the "Overland Route" got hit in two places in western Iowa not to mention the IAIS near Anita as well.  Jeff/Brian, any chance at all that the UP (or others) might detour over all or parts of the CN's Iowa Division if this stuff keeps up? 

I remember '93 well as I was living in Coralville and my graduation from the U of Iowa that summer was flooded out.  Oh well, I still did manage to get my piece of paper in the mail.      

 

What about the old CB&Q through southern Iowa?  Could they detour over that?

[Los Angeles Rams Guy]

Just read in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about flooding in SE Minnesota again; this time Houston County to be exact and also in NE Iowa in Allamakee County with the Upper Iowa River as well which leads me to believe that parts of the ICE mainline have been hit.  The Root River runs into the Mississippi just south of La Crescent and the Upper Iowa does the same just south of New Albin.  Anyone know for sure?

Wow, hard to believe that the former CNW portion of the "Overland Route" got hit in two places in western Iowa not to mention the IAIS near Anita as well.  Jeff/Brian, any chance at all that the UP (or others) might detour over all or parts of the CN's Iowa Division if this stuff keeps up? 

I remember '93 well as I was living in Coralville and my graduation from the U of Iowa that summer was flooded out.  Oh well, I still did manage to get my piece of paper in the mail.      

 

What about the old CB&Q through southern Iowa?  Could they detour over that?

Certainly that would be an option as well if available.  Ironically enough, the BNSF's former CBQ mainline across both Illinois and Iowa has seemingly always had flooding problems. 

[wgnrr]

Go look at Mid Continent Railway Museum's webcam. It is totally flooded...one of the worst they have ever had.

Many towns in Wisconsin are closed due to flooding and landslides blocking roads...Lake Delton has topped it's banks, and made a new river to the Wisconsin River via a subdivision.

Glad that I am in West Virginia right now...lol

Phil 

[Anonymous]

I just heard from a close friend of mine in Des Moines.  She said the Des Moines River will top the emergency spillway tonight, and they're closing all the bridges over the river.  Holy hotcakes.

[blhanel]

I just returned from running an errand downtown- I took the opportunity to drive over and check out the river.  It certainly is getting up there- First St. NW is now closed north of the I-380 5-in-1 bridge as it has water over it.  Cedar Lake is showing signs of rising along with the river; some of the yard tracks in the RR yard closest to St. Lukes are now under water.  The NOAA shows the level at 17.99 feet, and they've changed the forecast crest to 22.0 feet mid-Friday morning.  And of course we're going to get heavy rain and thunderstorms Wednesday into Thursday...

[Ishmael]

From what I'm hearing from you folks up north, this may very well be another 1993.

Our flood wall along the river was found to have many faults back then, and improvements were supposed to take place. But they haven't. Our city has been too busy building baseball stadiums and gambling palaces. I will keep y'all posted.

I remember the 1947 flood, before there was a flood wall. My Grandma and I took the streetcar downtown and walked out on the Eads Bridge. A lot of downtown buildings were submerged along the south side. Much of that area now is new businesses and entertainment areas. UP's Lesperance Yard is behind the floodwall. Should be interesting.

[blhanel]

Here's NOAA's prediction for Iowa City- looks like it'll be a loooooonnng time before CRANDIC can use its own tracks through town...

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=dvn&gage=iowi4&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1

[EJE818]

Lake Delton near the Dells is gone, Mid-Continent Railway Museum is suffering a very bad flood, and is reporting major damage throughout the museum, CP is shut down and it sounds like BNSF is close to being shut down as well. Bridges are collapsing into rivers and rail lines that aren't shut down already throughout flooded portions of the midwest are being threatened with flooding. It's getting really bad out there. Amtrak could very well be detouring on BNSF via Rochelle until Friday.

[Los Angeles Rams Guy]

Brian,

WHAT is going on back in C.R. and Iowa City????  How bad is this going to get?

Anyone out there who might be able to provide a synopsis of what lines/routes are closed or what detours are taking place? 

Needless to say, from what I'm gathering from different websites this sounds pretty bad.

[blhanel]

Alex,

Things are not going well here- they've ordered a mandatory evacuation from both sides of the river downtown, including the southeast side around the old Wilson's meatpacking plant and the southwest side around and including Czech Village.  Sounds like pumps are failing and water is starting to come up through the storm drains.  The Iowa Northern has been shut down due to the loss of their bridge across the Cedar in Waterloo, which got taken out yesterday afternoon by the flood.  I suspect that CN, UP, and CRANDIC aren't running either due to flooded yards around Quaker.

Haven't heard anything new from Iowa City, but then their problems really don't get serious until early next week.  Water is starting to go over the spillway at Coralville, but thus far is just a comparative trickle.

I'm going to try to get downtown tonight to get some pictures, depending on if I'm allowed to do so by local authorities (oh, and weather permitting as well- more gully washers coming).

[Los Angeles Rams Guy]

I'm wondering if the CN is able to run anything west of Waterloo with Cedar Falls seemingly inundated with H2O.  Couldn't believe that about the IANR's bridge at Waterloo biting the dust....er, water.