A massive fuel barge struck a bridge in Galveston, Texas, causing an oil spill, power outages, evacuations, and road closures on Wednesday morning.
The barge hit a pillar of the Pelican Island Bridge just before 10 a.m. local time, according to officials. The bridge, which is the only road in and out of Pelican Island, was shut down and closed to traffic in both directions.
A large piece of concrete landed on top of the barge and a trail of chemicals flowed into the water, but the overall bridge appeared to remain intact, aerial video showed. By early afternoon, crews allowed drivers to exit Pelican Island and slowly pass the bridge one car at a time, at about 20 feet apart. The bridge, however, remains closed to all other traffic.
A tugboat backing out of Texas International Terminals was pushing two barges but lost control of them in the strong current and high tide, according to bridge officials. One of the barges struck a pillar of the bridge.
Built in 1960, the bridge is 3,239 feet long and has one main steel span that measures 164 feet.
The barge, which is owned by Martin Petroleum, can carry up to 30,000 gallons of fuel, although it still remains unclear how much fuel it was carrying at the time of the collision and how much of it spilled into the bay. The liquid was described by officials as a vacuum gas oil.
“The U.S. Coast Guard is responding and will determine the extent of the spill, as well as initiate the containment and cleanup processes. Engineers from the Texas Department of Transportation are also enroute to inspect the roadway and determine if there is damage,” according to a statement by the city of Galveston.
The incident led to the closure of a six-and-a-half-mile section of the Intracoastal Waterway, officials said.
“Our Air & Water department is working closely with the Coast Guard and other agencies on the cleanup of the oil spill,” said a statement by the Galveston County Health District.
There are no reported injuries, but one person on the barge fell into the water. That person was quickly rescued, officials said.
Officials also said power in the area was knocked out as a result of the barge strike.
Texas A&M University at Galveston, which is located on the island, announced in a campus-wide alert that it canceled classes for the day. But power at the university has since been restored. Students who live on campus were allowed to stay at the university. However, those students who left the university and were exited off the island “should be prepared to remain off campus for an unknown period of time.”
The collision comes just weeks after a cargo ship crashed into a support column of the Francis Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26. The incident, currently under investigation by federal authorities, killed six construction workers who were fixing potholes at the time of the bridge collapse.