DES ARC — Vehicles were backed up for 11 miles on Interstate 40 westbound near Brinkley as the roadway closed because of flooding concerns.
Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department officials said the interstate's closure will happen around mile marker 202 and that detours are already in place.
Westbound traffic will detour at Brinkley and be directed on Highway 49 north to Fair Oaks, then Highway 64 west to Bald Knob and then Highway 67 south to Little Rock. Eastbound traffic will exit at Hazen and be directed to Highway 63 to Stuttgart, Highway 165 to DeWitt, Highway 1 to Marvell. At Marvell, motorists can take Highway 49 north to Brinkley, Highway 1 to Forrest City or Highway 49 to Helena.
In Prairie County, meanwhile, a man was found dead in floodwaters near his home, authorities said.
Gov. Mike Beebe paused during a tour of flooded areas in Des Arc to call the highway department to see if it dump trucks hauling sand could be allowed through the closed interstate. The material is needed to shore up temporary levees in Des Arc.
Beebe told highway officials to investigate whether the large trucks could safely navigate the floodwaters on the interstate. He asked them to be allowed through if it was deemed safe.
The interstate links Little Rock and Memphis, and is a crucial cross-country link for commercial traffic. In Tennessee, officials were already advising drivers of the closure.
Heavy rains fell last week in the river’s basin, and with the Mississippi River running high there is no place for the water to run-off. River water had started to cover I-40’s westbound lanes.
Beebe and staff members arrived by helicopter in Des Arc around 1:30 p.m., driving through parts of the town where floodwaters are still rising. Beebe met with volunteers building a temporary levee near an auto parts store and then traveled to an emergency operations center where the disaster response is being coordinated.
He said it's too early to know the full extent of the flooding across the state, but noted the Des Arc floodwaters seemed to be approaching all-time highs. Officials there estimated more than 100 homes have been damaged and that more may be hit as the river crests later this week.
"The good news is our people will stick together, work together and we'll fix it as fast as we can and help each other as much as we can," Beebe said. "It's what we do. We've got a lot of practice."
Beebe's visit came hours after Prairie County recovered its first fatality linked to the flooding.
The man, whose identity has not been released, was found Wednesday morning about 30 feet from his residence north of Des Arc, Prairie County Sheriff Gary Burnett said. He is believed to have drowned.
The man was last seen Monday night in an area now accessible only by boat.