Knife River level falling, but overtopping roads
The Knife River crested below flood level Thursday, but still managed to close a couple of roads in Mercer County. The National Weather service predicts a second higher crest over the weekend. The river reached 20.4 feet at the river gauge at Hazen at 3 p.m. Mar. 31 and had fallen to 19 feet by 2 p.m. April 1. However, with several days of rain in the weather forecast, the NWS predicts the river will start rising again Friday and will crest at 22.2 feet on Saturday. Mercer County Road 11, 5.5 miles south of Zap, and Mercer County Road 25, 9 miles south of Beulah were overtopped by floodwaters Wednesday. The water closed a bridge on County 11 near the home of Ralph Johnson. On County 25, The water rolled over a bypass that went around a bridge that was closed after being damaged by the 2009 flood. An area resident, Perry Winkler, said he thought ice blocked the culvert through the bypass, causing water to back up behind it.
