Opening dates for each closed end of U.S. 61 in Warren County will depend on consistent falls in the Mississippi River due to water trapped underneath the roadway, a top state highway engineer said this morning.

U.S. 61 North near Redwood could open Wednesday and U.S. 61 South at the Big Black River could open Friday, according to the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s most updated condition report for flooded state-maintained highways.

Today, inspectors will drill through small portions of U.S. 61 North and U.S. 49 West in Yazoo and Humphreys counties to check the roadbed for water levels, Central District Engineer Kevin Magee said. Tests on 61 South should begin Wednesday, he said. The river fell half a foot to 52.87 feet, a level Magee said is “on the good side where we expected to see it.”

Part of the northbound lane of U.S. 61 South on the Warren County side of the Big Black River bridge is the “weakest link in the chain” of the highway’s flood-soaked areas in Warren County because, unlike 61 North, no underground channels exist to help water drain, Magee said.

“The granular base layers are either crushed stone or clay gravel,” Magee said. “That’s where the water penetrates.”

Entrance and exit ramps off Mississippi 3 at U.S. 61 North remain under floodwater, as does a 10-mile stretch of Mississippi 465 between 61 and Eagle Lake, which MDOT officials expect to keep closed until mid-June.

All or part of 47 city and county roads have been closed to traffic until further notice.

About 1,200 dwellings have been damaged by the flood, which has displaced more than 2,100 people in Warren County.

Levels at the river side of the Steele Bayou Control Structure were 101.72 feet this morning, down six-tenths of a foot. The land side was 89.96 feet, unchanged since Monday.