KINDRED, N.D. -- Overland flooding continued to clog North Dakota Highway 46 west of here Saturday, with traffic slowing to a crawl on the damp-but-still-open road.
Capt. Rick Majerus of the Cass County Sheriff's Office said the bulk of the office's flood-related concerns Saturday came from the highway, which has several inches of water flowing over it in places.
"Cars are going through there real slow," he said. "I drove over it twice, and I don't like it."
The decision to close the road rests with the state Department of Transportation. But Majerus said doing so would necessitate winding, out-of-the-way alternative routes -- probably via Interstate 94 -- to areas already beset by road closures.
Meanwhile, he said several residents who live off the highway are parking near it and either walking or boating to their homes because their driveways are inaccessible.
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Rich Sieg, county highway superintendent, said his office is keeping an eye on the water as it moves north of Highway 46 into other areas. "That's kind of the hotspot right now," he said.
North of Kindred, Davenport is inaccessible from the south and the west. Mayor Larry Palluck said railroad workers were planning to come to town later in the day to look into removing a section of track to let water pass through. Currently, the tracks are acting as a barrier and raising water levels, he said.
"We're just about to the top of our dike," he said. "We're running out of room." He said he expects the town to be "in good shape" if the track is removed.
Farther west in Valley City, City Administrator Jon Cameron said the Sheyenne River crept up a few inches after rainfall. It was projected to reach 19.9 feet before falling again today.
He said the city's levees are holding up well and that releases from Baldhill Dam into the river were steady at 6,000 cubic feet per second. He said the Army Corps of Engineers will re-evaluate the release, depending on the weather.
"We're feeling pretty good right now, but we've still got another week until we can go down below, flood levels, and anything can happen," he said.
The North Dakota National Guard has about 150 guardsmen in Valley City -- and a Blackhawk helicopter -- to patrol dikes and assist as needed. About 160 guardsmen are on standby in Cass County, including some patrolling Kindred dikes.
