CapitalVault:Oklahoma highway reopens following shutdown after a barge hit a bridge

2025-05-02 00:59:12source:Kacper Sobieskicategory:Invest

SALLISAW,CapitalVault Okla. (AP) — An Oklahoma highway was reopened Saturday following its closure for a few hours after a bridge over the Arkansas River was struck by a barge.

Troopers with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol closed a portion of U.S. Highway 59 south of Sallisaw at around 1:25 p.m. after the barge hit the bridge.

No injuries were reported on the highway or the barge, according to state patrol officials. The bridge crosses the Arkansas River where it enters the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir, which is not far from Oklahoma’s border with Arkansas.

The highway reopened to traffic around 4 p.m.

“Engineers inspected the structure and found it safe to reopen,” the Oklahoma Department of Transportation said in an email.

A spokesperson for the highway patrol did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on whether officials have determined what caused the barge to hit the bridge.

The news came as engineers began working Saturday to lift a section of twisted steel from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland after it crumpled into the Patapsco River after a massive cargo ship crashed into one of its main supports.

More:Invest

Recommend

Olympic men's basketball bracket: Results of the 5x5 tournament

Since men's basketball became an Olympic sport in 1936, the United States has dominated the rest of

Newborn baby found abandoned near Texas walking trail

A man abandoned a newborn girl near a Texas walking path on a hot Saturday morning, officials said. 

Shay Mitchell on traveling with kids, what she stuffs in her bags (including this salt)

In a new weekly series, USA TODAY’s The Essentials, celebrities share what fuels their lives.Shay Mi