Stretch of Upper Miss. River reopens after barge accident

Washington (Platts)--15May2006

A 24-mile section of the Mississippi River near Thebes, Illinois, was closed
for several days last week after a barge struck a railroad bridge.

About 12:15 am Monday, a grain barge being pushed by the Mary Kay Eckstein, a
towboat pushing 30 barges containing coal, grain and rock, collided with the
Thebes Bridge, Lt. j.g. Anthony Baird of the Coast Guard told Platts on
Friday. Twenty-two of the barges broke away, drifting down river.

The accident closed the Upper Mississippi River between MP 20 and MP 44, Baird
said. The grain barge that struck the bridge sank in the navigation channel
near MP 37.2; a barge hauling rock was stranded on a dyke built to redirect
sand and silt out of the channel and partially submerged at MP 26; and a barge
hauling scrap metal drifted to MP 31 and ran onto a shallow area. The barges
hauling coal were undamaged.

There was no damage to the bridge at MP 43.7 that is owned by the Thebes
Railroad.

The river reopened Wednesday afternoon. While the river was closed for
cleanup, 19 northbound vessels and eight southbound vessels were delayed,
Baird said.

Collisions at that location are not uncommon, Baird said. "It's a very
challenging part of the river because it bends right before you reach the
Thebes railroad bridge." He estimated 10 collisions/year occur there.

For more information, take a trial to Platts Coal Trader at
http://www.coaltrader.platts.com.


 

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