Cargo Ship Takes Out Bridge in Far Western KY

[M. Henley Class President Find all posts View Profile Close M. Henley]

Thursday night, shortly after 8 PM (Rita and I got the call at 8:20 EST in the state capitol) a cargo ship took out the bridge across Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River) between the part of my district in Calloway County and the other portion in Trigg County.

For pictures of the mishap see:

Photo Gallery: Eggner's Ferry Bridge collapse | WPSD Local 6 - News, Sports, Weather - Paducah KY | Local

For the story see:

KYTC considers bridge options; collapse under investigation - Murray Ledger & Times: News

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Was the ship's captain on the bridge at the time of the mishap?

[M. Henley Class President Find all posts View Profile Close M. Henley]

Yes

I believe he was. Stories that I received yesterdayy was that the ship somehow got into the recreatiuonal channel of the lake rather than the commercial channel, and the 5-story ship was too high to clear the bridge at that point.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Which bridge?

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Now how y'all gonna get them piggies to market ?

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Did the captain accidentaly fall overboard and land in a raft?
Is there another way to get over the lake besides swim?
Forgive me, something just got a hold on me.

I truly hope it doesn't cause to much trouble for the citizens of your area.

shaggy

[M. Henley Class President Find all posts View Profile Close M. Henley]

Answers

Bridge: Eggners Ferry Bridge across Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River) 14 miles east of Murray, KY and about 50 miles SE of Paducah, KY. If you can visualize where the Ohio River enpties into the Mississippi, the Tennessee River empties into the Ohio just east (upriver) of that.

Guess the Captail must be an extremel,y lucky guy to fall overboard and landf in a lifeboat!! News last night hinted about his having dinner with a youyng blond at the time of the accident, so maybe he fell out of the dikning room window.

Tony, the hawg markets are open just south 8 miles into Tennessee, but I appreciate your grave concerns!!

[M. Henley Class President Find all posts View Profile Close M. Henley]

News on Bridge

A ranger from Land Between
the Lakes noticed something different
about the Eggners Ferry
Bridge on Saturday, and it wasn’t
just the missing span.
Highway offi cials looked into
the observation and found what
Keith Todd, Kentucky Transportation
Cabinet spokesman, calls a
game-changer.
Todd said Saturday that the
bridge shows signs of instability
— a bent guardrail that goes
across two of the east spans of the
bridge. It has marks that indicate
bending at the point where two
spans join. Inspectors say this
may indicate the bridge pier has
shifted since Friday.
“This is not good news,” Todd
said. “We were hoping that we
could salvage part of the bridge,
and just replace the 320 feet that
were taken out when the boat hit.
If there is any instability, however,
that plan won’t work.”
Todd said that divers will install
a sensor on a bridge pier early
next week to determine if it is
stable or has become unseated. If
stable, the bridge can be repaired.
If unstable, the bridge may never
see traffi c again. This would leave
ferry service as a long-range but
less than convenient option.
“The most amount of cars a
ferry could carry in one day
is 400 to 500,” Todd said.
“That’s with full operation
24 hours per day, with the
same traffi c at midnight
as 8 a.m. So even with two
boats, the most we could
cross would be 1,000 cars
per day. The bridge carried
2,650 cars at our last traffi c
count in 2009, so we don’t
think a ferry is practical.”
Todd said the department
has not even started
to estimate an exact dollar
amount for bridge repairs
and is just concerned with
solving the transportation
problem at the moment.
“We are doing what we
can to establish some sort
of river crossing,” Todd
said. “The money hasn’t
even been taken into account
yet. One day to the
next, the situation can
change, and we have to
keep on top of that fi rst.”
Whatever solution the department
comes up with will
be inherently temporary.
Todd says his department
is hoping that bids for a new
bridge, that was already
planned and has an estimated
cost of $330 million, will
go out within the year.
Call Corianne Egan, a Sun
staff writer, at 270-575-8652.

[M. Henley Class President Find all posts View Profile Close M. Henley]

More Update

AURORA — Two days
after striking the Eggners
Ferry Bridge on U.S. 68 over
Kentucky Lake, the MV Delta
Mariner has no timetable
for getting under way.
The vessel is operated by
Foss Marine. The company’s
senior vice-president of
health and safety, Frank Williamson,
said the vessel is fully
functional and did not run
aground with the collision. It
is at anchor until the bridge’s
decking and trusses can be
removed. He did not know
why the vessel was in a recreational
boat channel instead
of the navigational channel
in the center of the lake.
When it struck the
bridge, the Delta Mariner
had a crew of 16, plus a captain.
Two local river pilots
were also aboard, and one
was assisting the captain in
the pilot house. Williamson
did not know if the captain
or a pilot was at the helm.
He confi rmed the crew was
unharmed by the crash.
The cargo vessel contained
an Atlas booster
rocket, a Centaur rocket
upper stage for an April Air
Force launch, and an interstage
adapter for an August
NASA launch. None of the
vehicles were fueled, and
no hazardous materials
were released. Williamson
said the bridge impact will
not delay the launches.
“Foss cares about what
happened and the community,”
Williamson said.
“We will work as a team
with the Coast Guard, the
Kentucky Department of
Highways and remain at
the scene until we have the
fastest possible solution to
this problem.”
Williamson did not know
when the vessel would be
under way again. He said
Foss is bringing salvage
and repair crews and engineers
to the scene to study
the problem and remove
debris. The ship left Decatur,
Ala., and was preparing
to travel to Port Canaveral,
Fla.
Lt. Ron Easley of the U.S.
Coast Guard said the investigation
as to the cause of
the wreck remained open.
While the lake has reopened
to traffi c, the area
of the bridge and the Delta
Mariner has a vessel exclusion
safety zone.
“There have been no
charges for a pilot or the
captain at this time,” Easley
said. “Charges could
come at the end of the investigation
if there is any
cause. It would act against
their mariner licenses.
These would not be criminal
charges, rather administrative.”
Call Alan Reed, a Sun
staff writer, at 270-575-

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

I believe I went over that bridge on one of my trips in the area.

[M. Henley Class President Find all posts View Profile Close M. Henley]

Yes

You certainly did!