KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff5 barges break loose, cause scare

5 barges break loose, cause scare

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SHAWNEETOWN, IL (KFVS) -

The Shawneetown Bridge was closed to traffic for about 20 minutes Thursday morning after five barges broke loosed from a fleeting area upstream from Shawneetown.

The runaway barges were rounded up by a harbor tug from a nearby coal loading facility before they reached the bridge.

The bridge is open to normal traffic.

The Shawneetown Bridge connects KY 56 (Morganfield-Shawneetown Road) at the 0 mile marker with Illinois Route 13 across the Ohio River between Morganfield, Kentucky, and Shawneetown, Illinois. About 3800 vehicles cross the bridge in an average day, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

The bridge opened to traffic in 1956.

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