A town which has been split in two by the closure of a bridge due to raging floods has "everything crossed" as it waits for the water to subside, the mayor said on Wednesday.
Steve Cobb was speaking as he watched engineers examine the bridge in the middle of Tadcaster after concerns were raised overnight.
Cobb said the river was the highest he had seen it since devastating floods hit the North Yorkshire town in 2000.
He said a number of businesses close to the river had been flooded this morning but he was taking what comfort he could from an Environment Agency estimate that the river level had gone down 1cm.
The town is one of many hit by recent flooding
"We're one community but we are split in two today," Cobb said.
"We are totally dependant on the bridge. It's a four or five-mile trip around without it, just to get to the other side.
"We have a doctors on one side, schools on both sides, all sorts of businesses on either side.
"We've got our fingers crossed. We've got everything crossed," Cobb said.
The water level beneath the bridge has reached an unsafe height
North Yorkshire County Council said the bridge, which carries the A659 over the River Wharfe, has been closed as a precaution.
A spokeswoman said engineers were checking what they could but a full inspection was not possible until river levels subsided.
It is understood the closure was put in place after firefighters noticed water seeping through the structure.