HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) – Missouri River floodwaters are now less than 2 miles away from the town of Hamburg. Officials have been working to improve a temporary levee around the town to hold back the water rushing out of a failed levee 5 miles south of Hamburg.

The floodwaters are expected to reach Hamburg sometime later today (Wednesday). The Army Corps of Engineers hopes the temporary levee built over the past two weeks will keep Hamburg dry. If the levee fails, officials predict parts of the town could be covered by as much as 10 feet of water for months.

The water reached the western edge of Interstate 29 this (Wednesday) morning, forcing the closure of the southbound on-ramp and covering several hundred feet of Iowa Highway 333 west of the interstate. The Iowa Department of Transportation is also reporting the closure of Interstate 29 at exit 10 (Iowa Highway 2), due to flooding.

The I-29 closure extends to the U.S. 136 interchange near Rock Port, Mo.Traffic is being detoured using U.S. 136 east to U.S. 71 in Iowa.