(CHICAGO) — The U.S. Coast Guard closed a 50-mile stretch of the Illinois River to all traffic on Tuesday as the waterway swelled to within two feet of all-time highs in some areas, Reuters reported. The river was closed from mile marker 30 near Kampsville, Ill., to mile 80 in Versailles, forcing barge lines to stop loading grain. "The water is up on sandbags or within six inches of overtopping levees so any commercial traffic going through that closed area could potentially cause damage to those levees," said Mike Zerbonia, Illinois River operations manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Click here to read the story.
