Oklahoma State Patrol says it is diverting traffic after a barge hit a bridge
By Associated Press, The Associated Press
Posted Mar 30, 2024 06:55:15 PM.
Last Updated Mar 30, 2024 09:01:24 PM.
SALLISAW, Okla. (AP) — The Oklahoma State Patrol said Saturday that it closed a highway south of Sallisaw after a barge struck a bridge over Arkansas River.
Troopers closed South U.S. Highway 59 about 1:25 p.m. after receiving word of the incident and diverted traffic from the area, state patrol spokesperson Sarah Stewart said. The bridge, which crosses the Arkansas River where it enters the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir, will remain closed until it can be inspected, she said.
There were no reports of injuries on the highway or the barge, Stewart said.
It was not immediately known what caused the barge to hit the bridge.
The news came as engineers worked Saturday to lift a section of twisted steel from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland after it crumpled into the Patapsco River as a massive cargo ship crashed into one of its main supports.
Associated Press, The Associated Press
VIDEO: https://apnews.com/article/barge-bridge-b5b23e261d82624a4c77334a16af139f
How much trucking traffic goes across that bridge and how much barge traffic on that river? My immediate instinct is [they] are trying to hinder the bread basket of the world, but it may be too early to tell.