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Rising lake levels close road in Muskegon Co. for first time in decades

Posted at 10:15 PM, May 28, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-28 22:35:16-04

MONTAGUE, Mich. – For the first time in decades, a road in Muskegon County has been shut down.

The rising levels on Lake Michigan are resulting in standing water on Thompson Road, the connecting throughway between Montague and Whitehall.

The Michigan Department of Transportation closed Thompson Street on Tuesday afternoon. Officials believed it had become too dangerous for vehicles, especially smaller cars, to attempt to drive in the flooded areas.

The standing water should be draining out into White Lake, and in turn Lake Michigan. However, the drains can’t push any more water into the lake.

“It’s back flowing right now so the water level of the lake, as you can see, is higher than the surface of the water,” said Eric Scott, maintenance superintendent with the Muskegon County Road Commission.

It’s unclear when the water will go down. MDOT plans to explore some sort of potential solution within the next few days. One option may be pumping the water out.