Old River Bridge Pier Was Hit

Yesterday morning about 5:45 a.m., the towboat Jeffrey G. Stover was pushing south when 33 of 35 barges broke loose from their tow and some hit a pier in the middle of the old Hwy 80 bridge.  Herman Smith, bridge superintendent, said it was on the video, but could not tell what was going on because of the darkness.

Train traffic was also halted and was not expected to resume until the pier was inspected.  About 665 train cars daily usually cross the bridge, the only rail crossing between Memphis and Baton Rouge.

The Jeffrey G. Stover is owned by AEP in Cape Girardeau, MO., Smith said.

All of the scattered barges had been recovered by mid morning.  One barge had drifted 12 miles downstream near LeTourneau landing.

"We've got everything caught and pushed up to the bank," Smith said.  "Everything is accounted for."

Two barges on the tow were heavily damaged and will take days to repair, Smith said.

The Mississippi River level at Vicksburg yesterday morning was 33.3 feet, flood stage is 43 feet.

The strike was the first one this year and the last recorded strike was July 7 of last year.

Note:  The towboat of the M/V Linda Taylor that I posted recently has never been uploaded on, 
Dick's Towboat Gallery, and he told me via email that he would post my picture of it in the near future on his site.

  M/V Linda Taylor