Watch: Barge Tow Hits Freeway Bridge Over Arkansas River In Oklahoma

An Oklahoma highway was opened up again on Saturday after its closure for some hours following the incident of a bridge over the Arkansas River being struck by a barge.

On Saturday, the Oklahoma State Patrol said it closed down a highway south of Sallisaw when a barge struck a bridge above the Arkansas River.

On receiving the news of the incident, the troopers shut down the South U.S. Highway 59 at around 1:25 p.m. and drew away traffic from the area, per state patrol spokesperson Sarah Stewart.

She noted that the bridge that crosses the Arkansas River and leads into the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir will stay shut until it can be examined. Stewart said there were zero reports of injuries on the highway or the barge.

🚨#BREAKING: A large barge crashed into the Arkansas River bridge, causing damage to both the ship and the bridge pillar

📌#Sallisaw | #Oklahoma

Earlier this evening, just before 1:30 p.m., a large barge crashed into and struck the Arkansas River bridge at the Kerr Reservoir… pic.twitter.com/ZP8ElYStpL

— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 30, 2024

Video Credits: R A W S A L E R T S/Twitter

It was not known immediately what led the barge to hit the bridge.

The news reached as engineers worked on Saturday to lift a portion of twisted steel from Maryland’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge after it scrunched into the Patapsco River as a massive cargo vessel crashed into one of the key supports.

Barge collisions are an increasingly common accident on inland waterways in the United States, where close-quarters manoeuvring and strong currents exist.

AASHTO, America’s transportation standards agency, has developed guidelines for assessing the danger of an accident and preventing damages, and bridge structures constructed since 1991 must consider all of these factors.

The I-59 bridge is not far from the I-40 bridge at the Webbers Ferry in Oklahoma, which crumbled in 2002 following a barge collision. The earlier tragedy killed 14, spurring a rethinking of bridge safety across the state.

Reference: abc7chicago

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