Boat Strike Causes Oil Spill, Partial Collapse Of Bridge in Galveston

weather.com...

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — A barge slammed into a bridge pillar in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into waters near busy shipping channels and closing the only road to a small neighboring island. No injuries were reported.

The impact sent pieces of the bridge, which connects Galveston to Pelican Island, tumbling on top of the barge and shut down a stretch of waterway so crews could clean up the spill. The accident knocked one man off the vessel and into the water, but he was quickly recovered and was not injured, said Galveston County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Ray Nolen.

It must just be me. I have a faulty memory or something. I just don't remember this many barges hitting bridges in the past. I know it happens from time to time, but this is getting a little wierd.

This doesn't seem like a catastrophy like the Baltimore bridge, but Galveston Bay doesn't need any more pollution, and a bunch of oil won't help that front at all.

So is this the new normal, or is it just normal and everyone has been sleeping for a while?

a reply to: network dude

I think it’s similar to the train derailment in Palestine Ohio. Right after that every train incident big or small made the news. The increased exposure made it seem like we had a new problem. Turns out it’s an old problem with new exposure, one that hasn’t really seen any resolution since.

My guess is since the Baltimore catastrophe, any barge incident is going to make the news for a while.

I’d be willing to bet barges see a fair share of incidents since they seem to be a high efficiency solution to moving a lot of freight. Giant water slugs that can’t react quickly.

a reply to: network dude

in the articles i read said it was on the other side of the island that is not as busy as the others ports/ inter coastal water way and that the tug boat captain lost control of the barges due to hide tide and current.

plus it's old, and was constantly being down graded and TXDOT was planing on building a new bridge net year. about the only nefarious scenario i see is some construction company, some government official, or other greedy money grubbing bastards paid the boat captian to cut them loose so the new bridge could start being built ahead of time.

here's one article,

The tugboat in Texas was pushing bunker barges, which are fuel barges for ships, Flores said. The barge, which is owned by Martin Petroleum, has a 30,000-gallon capacity, but it’s not clear how much leaked into the bay, said Galveston County spokesperson Spencer Lewis. He said about 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) of the waterway were shut down because of the spill. The affected area is miles away from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which sees frequent barge traffic, and the Houston Ship Channel, a large shipping channel for ocean-going vessels.
Aside from the environmental impact of the spill, the region is unlikely to see large economic disruption as a result of the accident, said Marcia Burns, a maritime transportation expert at the University of Houston
“Because Pelican Island is a smaller location, which is not in the heart of commercial events, then the impact is not as devastating,” Burns said. “It’s a relatively smaller impact.” A barge is grounded next to the Pelican Island Bridge in Galveston, Texas on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, after it collided with the old rail bridge that runs alongside it. The collision shut down the only road access to and from Pelican Island. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)

Opened in 1960, the Pelican Island Causeway Bridge was rated as “Poor” according to the Federal Highway Administration’s 2023 National Bridge Inventory released last June.

The overall rating of a bridge is based on whether the condition of any of its individual components — the deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert, if present — is rated poor or below.
In the case of the Pelican Island Causeway Bridge, inspectors rated the deck in “Satisfactory Condition,” the substructure in “Fair Condition” and the superstructure — or the component that absorbs the live traffic load — in “Poor Condition.”

he Texas Department of Transportation had been scheduled in the summer of 2025 to begin construction on a project to replace the bridge with a new one. The project was estimated to cost $194 million. In documents provided during a virtual public meeting last year, the department said the bridge has “reached the end of its design lifespan, and needs to be replaced.” The agency said it has spent over $12 million performing maintenance and repairs on the bridge in the past decade.

Barge hits bridge connecting Galveston and Pelican Island, causing partial collapse and oil spill

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: network dude

I think it’s similar to the train derailment in Palestine Ohio. Right after that every train incident big or small made the news. The increased exposure made it seem like we had a new problem. Turns out it’s an old problem with new exposure, one that hasn’t really seen any resolution since.

My guess is since the Baltimore catastrophe, any barge incident is going to make the news for a while.

I’d be willing to bet barges see a fair share of incidents since they seem to be a high efficiency solution to moving a lot of freight. Giant water slugs that can’t react quickly.

☝️

News studios figured out another opportunity, is all. Reaction capitalism is what I call it. Why discover news when you can become the news by magnifying a situation and "flavoring" it with commentary.

At least this bridge has railroad tracks. 😊

Has Biden commented yet?

a reply to: network dude

I think it is the "New Car" situation, where once you buy a new car, you all of a sudden see them all over the place when previously you didnt.

I remember having the same thought about derailments.

a reply to: EndTime

I think it is the "New Car" situation, where once you buy a new car, you all of a sudden see them all over the place when previously you didnt.

I remember having the same thought about derailments.

My thoughts also. From AP news: "From 1960 to 2015, there have been 35 major bridge collapses worldwide due to ship or barge collision."

Couldn't find stats on collisions causing minor damage, but I bet it's not a small number.

There's not enough people to man the Harbor saftey or Harbor Master positions and All the tugs are understaffed or in dry dock as are all harbor ops nation wide.

www.nationalacademies.org...


www.zippia.com...