Highways Closed Due To Rising Flood Waters

Tuesday, May 8th 2007, 6:36 am

By: News On 6

Portions of northern Tulsa County remain under water Tuesday. The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office says several roads between Sperry and Skiatook are closed due to rising water from Bird Creek.

Many other creeks and streams across eastern Oklahoma are swelling out of their banks, but the biggest concern on Tuesday is Bird Creek, which runs out of Osage County into Tulsa County. Flooding along Bird Creek has caused the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to close state Highway 20 east of Skiatook. The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office has closed state Highway 11 at 117th Street North. At this point, officials do not know when the two highways will reopen to traffic.

Bird Creek at Sperry is expected to rise and crest near 26 feet Tuesday afternoon. The flood stage at Sperry is 21 feet. Forecasters say those water levels may create moderate flooding in the rural areas between Skiatook to Turley.

So far, some homes located near Bird Creek have not been evacuated.

The flood warning continues for Bird Creek at Sperry until early Wednesday morning.