Pelican Island Bridge's Future is Uncertain After Barge Strike
Pelican Island, the home of Texas A&M Maritime Academy, is cut off from the rest of the state for an indefinite period after a barge hit the only bridge connecting it to Galveston.
A petroleum barge belonging to Martin Marine hit the bridge on Wednesday, plowing through a railway span and then damaging the separate, parallel road bridge. A section of the rail bridge collapsed, and the barge was damaged enough to release 1,000-2,000 gallons of vacuum gas oil into the water.
On Thursday, officials said that the allision left the roadway bridge unstable, and that it will be closed to all island-bound car traffic for the forseeable future. However, cars have been allowed to cross the bridge in order to leave the island, and pedestrian traffic has been allowed in both directions. There were only a few hundred people on the island at the time of the casualty.
The barge was carrying about 960,000 gallons of product when the accident happened, and the tank that was damaged held about 160,000 gallons. Little of that spilled, according to the Coast Guard, and the environmental effects are expected to be limited. About 5,600 gallons of product were recovered from the barge's deck, and skimmers have picked up about 600 gallons of oil-water mixture from the waterway.
The Coast Guard boomed off the area to contain the spill, forcing the temporary closure of this section of the commercially-important Intracoastal Waterway. The barge also remains stuck in place, trapped by the weight of the bridge span it collapsed.
Rick Freed, vice president of Martin Marine, said at a press conference that the tug and barge had a "coupling issue" in the leadup to the casualty. The Coast Guard described it as a "break in the coupling." Speaking to ABC, Freed declined to give further details, citing an ongoing investigation.
The bridge's stability is uncertain, especially once the barge is removed, local officials said. It was already aging and due for replacement. While the discussion about its usability continues, the loss of access will have an effect on Texas A&M's campus. It is closed to students and most employees (except for essential life and safety personnel) through the weekend.
Video: Barge Hits Bridge Linking Galveston to Texas A&M Maritime Academy
On Wednesday morning, a barge hit a bridge to Pelican Island near Galveston, Texas, shutting down a road causeway and spilling oil into the water. The road connects a variety of shipyard and maritime enterprises - including Texas A&M University's maritime college - with the rest of the city.
Galveston's office of emergency management said that the barge hit the bridge at about 0930 on Wednesday morning. Video from the scene appears to show that the barge struck a decommissioned rail bridge, which runs parallel to the causeway. A span of the rail bridge has collapsed.
The extent of the barge's penetration beyond the rail bridge - towards the separate causeway structure used by road vehicles - was not immediately clear. The Texas Department of Transportation is on scene and evaluating the damage.
In a statement, Texas A&M University confirmed that the bridge is now closed to all traffic. Electricity to the island was also briefly interrupted but has now been reconnected. An incident command center has been set up on campus and is working with state officials to determine the impact of the bridge shutdown on the school.
Over the course of the day, first responders and road engineers supervised a series of vehicle evacuations on one lane only, allowing residents and workers to get from Pelican Island to the Galveston side of the bridge.
Because of the oil pollution in the water, the U.S. Coast Guard has temporarily shut down a short stretch of the Intracoastal Waterway while cleanup efforts are under way.
Courtesy Galveston Office of Emergency Management
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