Watch CBS News

Flooding Causes Partial Road Wash Out In Goodhue County

WELCH, Minn. (WCCO) -- The state is saturated after another round of heavy rains.

Part of County Road 50 in Farmington flooded Sunday night after a torrential rainfall came through the area in a very short time. Water over the roadway meant shutting it down to traffic for some time overnight.

Road crews since cleared the road and it's back open to traffic.

An organic farmer south of the Twin Cities could have a tough time recovering from recent heavy rain.

Owners of the Laughing Loon Farm in Northfield say they're out $15,000 in product after flood water ruined a third of their crop and killed 24 chickens.

The farm provides food for thousands at St. Olaf College and for restaurants in the Twin Cities. This was their first year of operation, and they did not have crop insurance.

In Welch, a small town near Red Wing, a roadway washed away because of fast-rising waters. A saturated Goodhue County keeps getting hit with more rain. The road partially collapsed near County Road 7 and County Road 41 because of flooding.

Road crews are working to remove the pavement, build it back up and repave it. If it rains in the area again soon, road conditions will only worsen.

"If we get another 2-3 inches, you're going to see this kind of damage all over the place. Everything  is just so saturated," said Ron Scripture, the maintenance superintendent for Goodhue County.

A few miles away in the small town of Welch, the Cannon River is back up. It had fallen several feet over the weekend and after more rain last night, some homes near the river are flooded again.

Back at the construction site, County Road 7 should be back open to one lane of traffic by the end of Monday, but if it rains again, these crews will have their hands full.

In Welch, the Cannon River rose about eight feet overnight, but it is a couple of feet short of when it crested Friday morning.

Chaska Flooding Highway 7 And County Road 41
(credit: CBS)

A portion of the road at Highway 7 and County Road 41 in Chaska also washed away due to rising flood waters near the Minnesota River in the southwest metro.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.