Although the Red River is receding slowly, a section of U.S. 71 remained closed in Little River County on Monday because water covering the roadway is not draining well.
Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department crews spent Monday clearing ditches and drains of debris left by flooding in May and June, department spokesman Danny Straessle said. It's the second time the 2.47-mile stretch of highway has been closed because of flooding. Highway officials also closed the same section from May 29 to June 14.
The section closed is from the Arkansas-Texas state line north to Arkansas 380 near Ogden. Highway officials have placed barricades, signs and portable electronic message boards along the highway to warn motorists.
The Red River reached 31.4 feet at Index on June 4, where its flood stage is 25 feet, and the high water has been receding since. On Monday, the river level was 24.2 feet, and National Weather Service hydrologists expect it to drop to 18.7 feet by Friday.
Downstream at Fulton, drainage is much slower. The river measured 23.8 feet Monday -- down from its crest of 32.2 feet June 5. Flood stage there is 27 feet. Hydrologists expect it to drop to 21 feet by Friday.
Earlier flooding created "ponds" among the divided four lanes of U.S. 71, Straessle said.
"It has had trouble draining out," he said. "Maybe there is debris blocking drainage. It didn't take much to push the water back up."
The Red River rose a second time after the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill dropped 7 inches to 8 inches of rain in some areas of the river's drainage basin in Texas earlier this month.
Straessle said once the roads are free of water, workers will clear them of silt, mud and debris.
National Weather Service meteorologists predict rain each day for the rest of the week as a weak frontal system wobbles through the state.
"Rainfall shouldn't be too significant," Meteorologist Julie Lesko of North Little Rock said. "We're not looking for any major systems. We'll have weak impulses, not heavy rains."
Lesko said northern Arkansas residents have the best chance of seeing rain this week on Saturday, the Fourth of July.
State Desk on 06/30/2015