Bridge Collapse

Mississippi Biloxi Officials say barge hit the Popps Ferry Bridge in Biloxi causing a section to collapse. VIEW SLIDESHOW

by WKRG Staff

Published: Fri, March 20, 2009 - 7:25 am CST Last Updated: Fri, March 20, 2009 - 12:55 pm CST

1:51 p.m.
- The Coast Guard says the barges were carrying loaded rock.
- The first two barges were damaged. One barge has sunk and the other is listing because of the weight of the collapsed bridge. The tanks on the listing barge have been inspected for leaks and it is not taking on water.
- Initial reports show that the master of the towing vessel was properly licensed.

1:05 p.m.
- Officials say one barge sank and a second appeared to be taking on water.

12:20 p.m.
The Coast Guard says it got a call from the Department of Marine Resources in Mississippi around 7:40 a.m. reporting that a section of the Popps Ferry Bridge had collapsed after it was hit by the Cheryl Stegbauer, which was towing eight barges.

Coast Guard Station Gulfport and Station Pascagoula launched 25-foot smallboats and crews to the scene. Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans sent a rescue helicopter and crew along with an HC-144A Ocean Sentry plane from the Aviation Training Center in Mobile to assist.

There have been no reports of injuries.

8:25 a.m.
A spokesperson from the Harrison County Sheriff's Office says a barge hit the Popps Ferry Bridge in Biloxi early this morning.

We're told the bridge has extensive damage and that a section is missing.
A car fell into the water, but no one was inside.

Both sides of the bridge are closed on Popps Ferry Road.

Stay tuned to WKRG.com and WKRG News 5 for more information on this story.

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Courtesy: U.S. Coast Guard

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JohnQPublic Says:

Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 7:17 pm

The car that went off belonged to the bridge tender, she was operationg the lift on the brifge for the barge to go thru.

Wall-E Says:

Sat, Mar 21, 2009 at 7:11 pm

Don’t you just hate it when a bridge pull out in front of ya, and then stops? I hate it, when that happens.

So one barges sank, the other is listing, so their gonna have to get their rocks off. C’mon ya’ll I mean to unload the rock out of the barges to re-float em.

What gets me is they reported that a car went off the bridge into the water, but no-one was in it, WOW!!! hope so, and hope no one was killed.

Surf Says:

Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 10:49 pm

And just what are “loaded rocks” made of? Are they loaded with something. Or did they mean to say that the barges were loaded with rocks???
This station has a very bad habit of not using the english language well. I assume the “staff” made another grammatical error, as usual. They’ve been known for this very often in the past. However, they do have the BEST website of all the other local channels, that’s why I keep coming back here to check the “local” news.

JohnQPublic Says:

Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 2:49 pm

Loaded rock is just plain rocks, the type from a quarry usually used on the side of the road.

Surf Says:

Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 1:24 pm

What were the barges carrying??? Never heard of “loaded rock”.
The Coast Guard says the barges were carrying loaded rock.