Pittsburgh officials closed several bridges after more than two dozen barges broke loose late Friday and floated uncontrolled down the Ohio River, some plunging over local dams.
Around 11:30 p.m., officials responded to 26 barges moving downriver. Three of the barges were empty, and 23 carried cargo such as coal, though there were no hazardous materials on board, city officials said in a news release.
One barge still has not been found as of Saturday morning, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Eyobe Mills told USA TODAY. There are no reports of any barges colliding with bridges, nor is there any pollution, he said.
No one was reported injured, city officials said, but Peggy’s Harbor, on the Ohio River’s northern bank, sustained extensive damage.
Officials closed the West End Bridge, just west of downtown Pittsburgh, as well as a rail bridge to Brunot Island. In a news release, city officials said they would reopen the bridges when it was safe to do so. Farther west, the McKees Rocks Bridge was temporarily closed out of caution before reopening Saturday morning.
“They may or may not come into contact with sub-structure, but we are not willing to take the risk,” the McKees Rocks Police Department said in a social media post.
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![An aerial view of Pittsburgh looking from the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers that together form the Ohio River.](https://i0.wp.com/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/presto/2020/12/11/USAT/63925ee2-dcc9-4225-a4fa-ecb138c5c830-19_pittsburgh.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
Barge incident comes weeks after Baltimore bridge collapse
The bridge closures come just over two weeks after a large cargo vessel near Baltimore lost power and hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse. The bridge collapse spurred concern about the safety of other U.S. bridges. Pittsburgh is a historically industrial Pennsylvania city known for its iconic bridges that swoop over several rivers in and around the city.
So far, 11 barges have been located along the riverbank by Brunot Island and were being held by a tugboat, city officials said. Fourteen continued downriver.
Nine went over the Emsworth Dam, about 4 miles downstream from Brunot Island. Four made it beyond the Dashields Dam, located roughly 7 miles from the Emsworth Dam.
Pittsburgh officials said the barges are owned or operated by the Campbell Transportation Company, located just downstream along the Ohio River from the McKees Rocks Bridge. A call and message to the company was not immediately returned Saturday morning.
Late Friday night, the National Weather Services extended a flood warning for the Ohio River near Pittsburgh. Around midnight, river water reached 25 feet, beyond the flood stage.
The cause for the barges going loose remains unclear. The Coast Guard said its priority remains on the unaccounted for vessel.