Muskogee Arkansas River Flood: updated map and road situation

As severe flooding continues along almost the entire length of the Arkansas River in Oklahoma, the effects are widening in communities along the waterway. Here in the Muskogee area, the flooding is approaching an all-time high, with county officials saying that the latest forecasts calling for a crest near 45' (an elevation of approximately 516' above sea level).

As of this writing, the Arkansas River gage at Muskogee has the river at 43'. The map below gives a rough estimate of what areas could be affected by the flooding if it crests between 45' and the all-time record of 48'. It's an imprecise graphic, since USGS contour lines are only every ten or twenty feet (depending on the area), so some of the edges might be above the flood level (but the shading should cover just about everything that could be affected). Judging from drone/helicopter video I've seen of the area, this is pretty close to what the current situation is.

Some of the roads on this map are not underwater due to elevated roadways; i.e. the turnpike, OK-165, Peak Boulevard, South Country Club (as of this afternoon) and South York St (as of this afternoon).

OK-10 is closed at Manard Bayou as well as where it approaches US-62. US-62 is underwater from just east of the river bridge to several hundred yards east of the Cherokee Casino. OK-10 is underwater from essentially the Arkansas River to north of the Muskogee Turnpike.

For official road highway closures, visit OKRoads.org. This does not cover county or city streets. Some local road closures can be found on the official Facebook pages of the City of Muskogee Emergency Management and the Muskogee County Emergency Management. I'll post two alternate routes from Muskogee to Fort Gibson below the potential-flooding map.

You can view this map in full at this link, where you can zoom in close enough to see most streets (not all are labeled).

Again, you can view this map in larger format at this link.

Official highway closures can be viewed at OKRoads.org.

TWO ALTERNATE ROUTES FROM MUSKOGEE TO FORT GIBSON:

• Head north from Muskogee to Wagoner via the Turnpike or US-69, then east on OK-51 from Wagoner to Hulbert, then south on 4 Mile Road from Hulbert to US-62, then west on US-62 to Fort Gibson (Google Maps directions). Distance from downtown Muskogee, 43.7 miles.
• Head north from Muskogee toward Wagoner via US-69, take E 760 Rd (just past the RV park on Hwy 69, at the curve south of Wagoner) east approximately 1.5 miles to OK-16, head south to E 100th St N/Gray Oaks Rd, go east approximately 3 miles to N 49th St E, head south 2 miles to OK-251, head east to the Fort Gibson Lake Dam, then continue east on OK-80/W 790 Rd until you reach 4 Mile Rd, then south to US-62, west from there to Fort Gibson (Google Maps directions). Distance from downtown Muskogee, 41.4 miles.

UPDATE: here are some road closures from the Muskogee County Commissioners, list was last updated Wednesday evening (click the image to view larger):

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For those who aren't regular readers of MuskogeePolitico.com, I generally cover state and local politics and current events. You can follow my blog on Facebook at this link, and on Twitter at @JamisonFaught.

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