The trip to Eagle Lake is expected to get a bit shorter soon.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation is expected to reopen the intersection of Mississippi 465 at Mississippi 1, as backwater flooding continues to recede.

Central District engineer Kevin Magee said the barricades have been removed from the road, and it is possible the intersection could be officially open to traffic Tuesday. Drivers will still have to use the levee to get to Eagle Lake. The intersection was closed March 22, when backwater flooding in the area reached 96.98 feet. As of 4 p.m., the level was 95.88 feet. He said Mississippi 465 from U.S. 61 north remains closed and will not be reopened until the backwater fully recedes from an area on 465 at Eagle Lake from the backwater levee to the Eagle Lake cotton gin.

“We’re just not opening it until you can get to Eagle Lake,” Magee said. “Nobody lives on that road; there’s no reason to go up and down that road. There’s no reason to open that road (465 from U.S. 61 North) until you’re able to open that section from the backwater levee to Eagle Lake.”

He said 465 from U.S. 61 North will “be out of the water quickest, but no sense opening it until we get the other (section) open. There’s no sense opening it until we can get you to Eagle Lake.”