Barge accident closes 2 bridges linking Iowa, Illinois

[May 02, 2008]  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Several fully loaded barges broke loose on the flood-swollen Mississippi River, striking two key bridges and forcing a halt to highway and railroad traffic early Thursday.

Three of the five barges that came loose hit the U.S. Highway 34 bridge that connects Burlington, Iowa, and Gulfport, Ill., said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Tim Whalen. The landmark bridge, opened in 1993, is also known as the Great River Bridge.

One of the three barges then struck the nearby BNSF railroad bridge, and remained pinned against the bridge late Thursday morning. All five barges were loaded with grain or coal, Whalen said, but he didn't know who owned them.

The nearest alternate highway bridge over the Mississippi is 17 miles to the south. There is no other railroad bridge in the area and rail traffic was not being rerouted at this point, BNSF said.

The highway bridge is designed for such impacts, said Dena Gray-Fisher, spokeswoman for the Iowa transportation department, "but this happened to be fully loaded barges" in fast-moving flood waters.

"We're waiting (to learn) the weight of the barges, which will help us determine from an engineering perspective what the impact would have been," Gray-Fisher said.

Inspection crews will do as much as they can on the highway bridge, but they can't send in divers right now because the river is so high, she said. Because of recent heavy rain, the Mississippi was at 20.61 feet and Thursday morning, more than five feet above flood stage and still rising.

The BNSF bridge that was struck carries dozens of trains a day, including Amtrak, BNSF spokesman Steve Forsberg said. A decision on reopening the bridge will depend on the railroad's inspection.

Amtrak did not immediately return a call.

The two other barges that broke free from a staging area upstream went aground before reaching the bridges, and they have been recovered, Whalen said.

[Associated Press; By MELANIE S. WELTE]

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