Many communities experienced flooded roads during Thursday's storms.
In the Minocqua-Woodruff area, traffic was shut down in both directions on Highway 51 north of Highway J for about five hours.
Construction in the area has been ongoing, and crews have been in the midst of replacing the storm drain system.
Dan Erva, Project Manager with the DOT, says one reason for the dramatic flooding was that the rain overwhelmed the temporary drain in place during the construction project.
"A severe storm hit the area, and we got a lot of water in a short period of time. Which caused our existing storm sewer system and the temporary tie in to the new system to be over capacity, so we experienced some flooding. We deployed some pumps to help alleviate the water and get the water out quicker.”
During the peak of the flooding, some drivers reported water levels coming up to the bottom of their car doors.
Local fire departments, county workers and contractors were on hand to help with the situation.
Meanwhile over ten thousand people remain without power in the Northwoods. As of 5:15 p.m., Wisconsin Public Service is reporting almost 8000 people without electricity in Rhinelander, 1500 in Three Lakes, 1400 in Hazelhurst, 2300 in Eagle River, 2500 in Woodruff, and 1500 in Tomahawk.
