PORTLAND, Michigan — Flash flooding and ice jams prompted the city of Portland to close three bridges on Friday. Over the weekend, the city along with Michigan State Police has been monitoring the situation on the river, and they reopened one bridge on Saturday.
The Bridge Street Bridge was reopened Monday afternoon.
Sunday, the city provided an update on the flooding and said that they are monitoring several ice jams on the Grand River. City officials and MSP conducted a flyover of the area to assess the situation, and this is what they found:
- There is one main ice jam in Portland about a quarter of a mile downstream of the waste water treatment plant. There is about a mile of ice behind the jam, causing the flooding.
- There is a second ice jam about a quarter of a mile upstream of the main ice jam. If this ice breaks free, it will move downstream and add to the main ice jam, likely causing more shifts in water levels.
- A third ice jam is one river bend upstream of the Charlotte Highway Bridge. There is about three miles of ice chunks backed up behind this jam.
- There is loose ice chunks on the Looking Glass River that is waiting to dump into the Grand River once it gets unplugged.
A local state of emergency was declared, getting the foundation established to request a governor's declaration.
"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...restated that using explosives or other means to break the ice is not effective and problematic under these conditions," the release said on Friday.
The ice jam and river flooding forced 50 people from their homes in Portland Wednesday.
City, county and state officials continue to monitor the situation.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter.