City of Delafield - A noon traffic jam at the interchange of Interstate 94 and Highway 83 extended nearly two miles east to near the Highway SS interchange as Sunday motorist discovered the interstate is still closed because of concerns about high water and bridge stability in Jefferson County. 

It appeared that motorist traveling west bound from Milwaukee received no road warning of the interstate closure until they were west of the Highway SS interchange; too late to get off the expressway and use alternate routes before reaching the congested Highway 83 interchange.

Vehicles were sometimes almost bumper to bumper when the traffic was reduced to a near crawl as motorist manuevered into lanes that channeled them onto the expressway exit ramp.

At one point, the traffic jam became more severe because of emergency vehicles tending to an accident near the intersection of the ramp and Highway 83. The accident contributed to additional traffic jams at the nearby intersection of Golf Road and Highway 83.

Since Friday afternoon interstate traffic to Oconomowoc, Madison and other points west has been detoured from Interstate 94 south on Highway 83 ,southwest on Interstate 43, to the Interstate 90 interchange at Beloit, and then north on I-90 to I-94 at Madison.

The interstate was closed at Highway 26 near Johnson Creek earlier in the week and motorist were being detoured to Highway B in Jefferson County.

However, Highway B became impassable because of high water on Friday and state officials decided to shut down the I-94 at Highway 83 in order to provide motorist with a detour to Madison.

Alternative east west routes between Delafield and Madison could not be used because they were also closed as a result of high water and concerns about bridge stability.

Town of Summit - State police are assisting local authorities in maintaining and enforcing barricades on roads closed in the town as a result of flooding and concerns over bridge stability, according to Town Police Officer Mike Sterwald, the town's emergency management director.

Sterwald said the state troopers was assigned to the town barricades after Police Chief James Race asked state officials for help.

Race asked for the help shortly after noon Friday when he was notified by state highway authorities that they intended to shut down west bound Interstate 94 from the Highway 83 interchange in the City of Delafield to Highway 26 in Johnson Creek in Jefferson County.

Race told states officials during a telephone conversation at Town Hall that local law enforcement agencies were stretched to their human resource limits by flooding in the region.

He said motorist were ignoring barricades on flooded roads in the town and suggested that if the state expect their barricades on Interstate 94 to be enforced, the governor should call out the national guard.

Race said later Friday that his request for the National Guard assistance had been denied.

Race estimated that there are several hundred residents of the town whose homes have been flooded; ranging from a few inches in basements in subdivision homes to several feet of water that has surrounded and inundated lake shore homes on the Genesee lakes.

Sterwald said that Highway 67 at the Roundy's warehouse south to Highway 18 is closed because of a high water at the Whitaker Lane bridge over the Bark River.

Highway 18 from Dousman Road west to Utica Road is also closed because of high water and concerns about the stability of bridge also over the Bark River, according to Sterwald.

Delafield Road  east to Waterville Road is also closed because of Bark River flooding, according to Sterwald.

He said that Genesee Lake Road from Dousman Road east to North Genesee Woods Drive has been closed along with North Douglas Road.

The Highway 67 west bound ramp onto Interstate 94 is also closed. West bound Interstate 94 from Highway 83 has been closed since about 4 p.m. Friday, according to state and local officials.