Rising floodwaters were expected to make 11 locks and dams impassable on the upper Mississippi River, forcing the closure of the U.S. river later on Monday from Bellevue, Iowa to Saverton, Missouri, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said.
The closure was expected to be the most extensive since 2008 on that part of the country’s busiest waterway, with at least 80 towns unable to be passed, said Ron Fournier, a Corps of Engineers spokesman.