CANTON, Mo. (AP) -- Exhaustive preparations to shore up this town's levee ended Wednesday night. After working tirelessly for days on end, all residents could do was wait to see if their efforts would stave off a flood surge on the Mississippi River that was expected to rival record-levels set in 1993.

"Tonight is the test," Monica Heaton, a spokeswoman at Canton's emergency response center, said Wednesday.

The city closed off public access to its levee at 6 p.m., ending a day's long stream of traffic as residents hauled sandbags to the top of the earthen structure on ATVs. Heaton said National Guard members would be walking the levee all night, watching for signs of leakage or overtopping.

The flood crest was expected to hit around 1 a.m., Heaton said, reaching levels of 27.7 feet, or 13.7 feet above flood stage. But residents say they're optimistic the floodwaters will be held at bay. The record was 27.8 feet set in 1993.

Mayor Jeff McReynolds issued a statement saying he was confident the levee would hold, but also asked downtown residents not to sleep in their homes Wednesday night.

"Don't breathe a sigh of relief and think it's over," he said. "All that water is going to put immense pressure on the levee, and now the second phase of monitoring the levee and addressing trouble spots has begun."