Barge Strikes Iowa Bridge Over Mississippi

Work to raise a sunken barge continued May 15, nearly a week after a tow struck the Fort Madison, Iowa, bridge over the Mississippi River on May 9.

The mv. Joe B. Wyatt, owned and operated by Ingram Barge Company, had 15 barges in tow when one hit the north side of the bridge about 1:15 p.m., said Petty Officer Jose Hernandez, a public affairs specialist for the Coast Guard’s Eighth District. One barge sank. No one was injured.

The swing gate bridge was temporarily stuck in the open position as a result, halting rail and highway traffic for the next few hours. The waterway was closed in the immediate area from about 5 p.m. until midnight to allow a complete inspection. The bridge is located at Upper Mississippi Mile 383.

The bridge connects Fort Madison with Niota, Ill. It carries two lanes of highway traffic on Illinois State Route 9/Iowa Highway 2 on its upper deck and rail traffic along two tracks owned by BNSF Railway line on the lower deck.

“The bridge is now back open, and traffic is moving,” said Lena Kent, a spokeswoman for BNSF Railway. “The cause is under investigation.”

Hernandez said the barges in the tow were carrying corn, and there were no environmental impacts as a result of the allision.

The 1,675-foot bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places. It opened in 1927, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. At the time its 525-foot electrified swing span—which allows river traffic to pass through—was the longest and heaviest in the country.

Caption for photo: A barge carrying corn sank May 9 following an allision between the tow of the mv. Joe B. Wyatt and the bridge over the Mississippi River between Fort Madison, Iowa, and Niota, Ill. (Photo courtesy of WGEM, Quincy, Ill.)