Several roads in Albert Lea and Freeborn County remained barricaded on Monday because of high water — in the midst of a flood warning that was expected to last through this morning.

According to the National Weather Service, a flood warning was issued until 10:30 a.m. today in mainly the central and eastern portion of the county. The warning stated locations that could experience flooding were Albert Lea, Hayward, Alden, Clarks Grove, Conger, Freeborn, Geneva, Glenville, Hollandale, Manchester, Myrtle and Twin Lakes.

Flooding was evident in Albert Lea on Monday as traffic was detoured from westbound East Main Street at Garfield Avenue because of water over the roadway near Hanson Tire Service. The detour increased traffic on Bridge Avenue and Marshall Street.

Though many people took the detour, there were still drivers who attempted to make their way through the water.

Authorities also set up barricades on Lakeview Boulevard on the north side of Hatch Bridge because of water running over the roadway from Edgewater Bay. Though the barricades were passable Monday morning, many motorists stopped or slowed before going through.

Freeborn County Road 101, between state Highway 13 and Edgewater Drive, had probably the fastest-moving water over the roadway from Wedge Creek. This road was also barricaded.

Water from Fountain Lake also covered Katherine Island. Water in the channel near the Fountain Lake Dam rose significantly Sunday evening and early Monday morning.

City Engineer Steven Jahnke said he and the engineering staff watched the levels of Fountain Lake closely all day on Monday. Both Bancroft Creek and Wedge Creek flow into Fountain Lake.

Jahnke said the levels started increasing quickly Sunday evening around 5 p.m. but started increasing at a slower rate starting at 7 a.m. Monday.

At 4 p.m. Monday, the water had only gone up three-fourths of an inch since 7 a.m., Jahnke said.

“We’re hoping that we’re pretty much cresting on Fountain Lake and that by morning it should be coming down,” Jahnke said.

He said if Fountain Lake rose just six more inches, the city would have to put out sandbags.

“We’re hoping we don’t have to do that,” he said.

He noted Albert Lea Lake’s water levels usually follow a two-day lag after Fountain Lake peaks. This means the worst case scenario is that Albert Lea Lake will continue to go up through late today and maybe into early Wednesday.

For now, Jahnke encouraged people to stay off of Main Street and Lakeview Boulevard where water is covering the streets.

“If they could avoid those locations until it goes down, we’d encourage them to,” Jahnke said.

A check this morning of Lakeview reveealed the water remained on street but at a lower level than on Monday.

Albert Lea Police Chief Dwaine Winkels said how long the city roads would be barricaded would be determined by the road conditions.

Winkels said on Main Street, cars were going through too fast, and he and other authorities were afraid the cars would get stalled in the water. That’s when the road-closed barricades were put up Monday morning.

Out in the county, Freeborn County Road 30 continued to be barricaded on Monday near 285th Street, where Turtle Creek flows. The creek surpassed flood stage Sunday evening.

As of 7:30 p.m. Monday, the gauge for Turtle Creek read 11.14 feet. Flood stage is reached at 10.5 feet.

After a car was damaged from striking a washed out portion of roadway near County Road 25 and 865th Avenue in Moscow Township, Winkels encouraged people to avoid going through standing water.

While many washouts occur in the county, they can happen in city streets, too, he said.

“Try to avoid going through standing water,” he said.