St. Paul temporarily moves impound lot due to flooding

The St. Paul police impound lot along the Mississippi River will be temporarily closed Wednesday and moved to a new location because of flooding caused by heavy snowmelt and recent rains.

The impound lot, at 830 Barge Channel Road, will be closed to the public starting Wednesday, according to a city news release.

The lot operations will be closed Thursday before reopening Friday at a temporary new impound lot north of downtown St. Paul at 235 Maryland Ave. E., a former Kmart building and lot. It will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to a Police Department tweet.

All vehicles from the Barge Channel Road location will be moved to the new Maryland Avenue lot, Sgt. Mike Ernster said.

It's undetermined when operations would return to the Barge Channel Road location.

The lot and elsewhere along the Mississippi River through St. Paul are under a flood warning issued by the National Weather Service until further notice. The combination of snowmelt and recent rainfall will "continue to cause widespread flooding on area rivers," and upcoming rain is expected to prolong high river flows into the coming week, the warning says.

The city asked that people not travel to either location until a reopening time is announced for the normal impound lot on Barge Channel Road. Vehicle owners with questions can call the city at 651-266-5642 and check online for the regular lot's reopening time at stpaul.gov/impound.