(The Associated Press circulated the following on March 6.)
PARKERSBURG — The U.S. Route 50 bridge connecting Parkersburg to Belpre, Ohio, has reopened after officials determined it was structurally sound despite being struck by two loose barges.
The West Virginia Department of Transportation gave local officials the OK to reopen the Ohio River bridge around 4:30 Wednesday afternoon, said Parkersburg fire Chief Eric Chichester. Later in the evening, the bridge was closed for a couple of hours while the barges were moved, but it opened again at 8:20 p.m.
While the initial inspection revealed that a bridge pier had been scraped, DOT inspectors found no real damage.
“Our mission is the safety of the driving public,” said agency spokesman Brent Walker. “I am sure the inspectors would not have reopened the bridge if there was a problem.”
Lt. Herb Lumpp of the Coast Guard’s Barboursville office said the motor vessel Darin Adrien was pushing 12 barges upriver when it lost its tow due to the strong current just before 1 p.m. Wednesday. The tied-together barges struck a CSX railroad bridge, he said, which caused the tow to break apart and sent two of the barges into the highway bridge.
The West Virginia Department of Transportation and CSX were both asked to send crews to inspect the bridges for damage, said Lumpp.
It wasn’t immediately clear Thursday whether CSX had cleared its bridge for rail traffic.
Lumpp said 10 of the barges were hauling coal, one was filled with lime and the other was empty.