Flooding causes schools to close in Vienna

The Missouri Department of Transportation reopened Highway 63 and 42 near Vienna on Wednesday.

The roads were closed because they were first covered with water, then covered with debris from the stormwater.

MoDOT crews removed the debris from the roads and fixed what was damaged.

Joe Schmidt, a maintenance engineer with MoDOT, said school buses from the Maries R-1 School District use Highway 63 and 42 as main transportation routes. He said because the roads were closed, the school had no choice but to close.

Maries R-1 students have been out of school since Monday.

One student said the district will most likely be closed for the remainder of the week.

The superintendent has not yet confirmed if district schools will be closed Thursday and Friday.

Schmidt said the forecasted five to six inches of rain should not damage or flood the roads again, but if it does, crews will be ready to put up the “road closed” signs.

If the roads flood again, school buses won’t be able to take the kids to school.

Some people who work in Vienna said that whenever the roads get flooded, it’s like they live on an island. They said they usually can’t leave home until the water recedes.