Sandbags and Du Quoin inmates head for Rt. 3

Inmates from the Illinois Department of Corrections Du Quoin boot camp Monday filled Illinois Department of Transportation highway trucks with nearly 12,000 sandbags to assist in Southern Illinois flood relief.

The sandbags have been stored in a large metal quonset hut behind the Southern Illinois Center south of the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds since April 2014. By 3 p.m. the building had been nearly emptied.

Their destination is flooded areas along Rt. 3 in Jackson County.

Back then, inmates at the Du Quoin Impact Incarceration Center (the boot camp) filled those 12,000 sandbags in preparation for any future flooding in Southern Illinois.

The work was done at no cost to taxpayers. Instead an estimated $5,000 for 126 tons of sand and 12,000 sandbags were donated by Nikki's Place video gaming lounges.

They have a shelf life of two-to-three years in dry storage.

This entire effort was to combat the potential effects of possible flooding and levee issues during the spring rains.

The bags were transport-ready and didn't have to be filled on-site. Local inmates joined te relief effort.

More than six inches of rain have fallen on Perry County since Dec. 23. he rains have made several rural roads impassable in high water for short periods of time.

The National Weather Service is expecting the Mississippi River at Chester to crest at 49 feet on Friday and will probably result in the short term closure of the bridge over the Mississippi River at Chester as early as today.

Both Randolph and Jackson County emergency management agencies warned families in low lying areas they should leave their homes and move to higher ground as soon as possible.