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Dan Gunderson
Fargo, N.D.

I-29 north of Fargo remains closed due to floodwaters

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James and Karen Witzel
James and Karen Witzel have been stranded since Sunday when the road to their home north of Georgetown, Minn., was eroded by rushing water. A neighbor with a tractor can ferry them across the water if needed. The Witzel's expect to be stranded for several days until the water goes down and the road can be repaired.
MPR Photo/Dan Gunderson

The North Dakota Department of Transportation expects Interstate 29 north of Fargo to remain closed for a couple more days. The interstate was closed on Sunday when several inches of floodwater flowed across all four lanes.

DOT Engineer Kevin Gorder said the water is going down, but damage to the roadway needs to be repaired. Gorder said the biggest concern is erosion.

"We have pictures in our office of pipes that have been washed out and all you see is this bridge of pavement that's not designed for it," Gorder said. "You put traffic on that and it's a recipe for disaster, so we have to be very careful and cautious.

Gorder said they want to get the traffic back on the road that was designed to carry that load, but that the number one priority is to do it safely.

The Interstate traffic is currently detoured onto state highways. Those roads are sustaining some serious damage because of all the heavy truck traffic.

OFFICIALS SAY WATER, INTENSITY DROPPING

Officials monitoring flooding on the Red River system in the Fargo area say the intensity level is down but many roads in the county and a large stretch of Interstate 29 remain closed.

The river level in Fargo on Wednesday morning was 37.4 feet, down from Saturday's crest of 38.75. Officials say the water is slowly dropping north of the city, where unprecedented overland flooding has left many rural residents isolated.

The National Guard is being called off levee patrol in Fargo.

Fargo officials say that five homes sustained damage from the flood, most from pump failures.

Officials from Fargo and Cass County have offered assistance for Valley City, about 50 miles east of Fargo, where the Sheyenne River is expected to crest about 2 feet higher than originally forecast.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Gallery
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Overland flooding
Floodwaters are making travel difficult in much of the Red River Valley as dozens of roads are under water, including a portion of Interstate 29 north of Fargo. Here, a lone cars heads south on I-29 on Monday, April 11, 2011. A stretch of interstate just north of this point is closed and will be for some time.
MPR Photo/Ann Arbor Miller
1 of 5
James and Karen Witzel
James and Karen Witzel have been stranded since Sunday when the road to their home north of Georgetown, Minn., was eroded by rushing water. A neighbor with a tractor can ferry them across the water if needed. The Witzel's expect to be stranded for several days until the water goes down and the road can be repaired.
MPR Photo/Dan Gunderson
2 of 5
Water in Perley, Minn.
Residents near Perley, Minn. drive through several inches of running water on Tuesday, April 12, 2011, to get out of their farm. Many residents here expect to be dealing with closed roads for a week or two until floodwater recedes.
MPR Photo/Dan Gunderson