Bridge deemed safe after being struck by barge

Engineers with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) deemed the US-59 Arkansas River bridge safe to reopen on Saturday, March 30,  after a barge struck the bridge just before 1:30 p.m. near the Sequoyah/LeFlore County line.
Sequoyah County and LeFlore County officials both reported that the bridge was closed for an estimated two hours and 53 minutes, reopening around 3:25 p.m. Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers and ODOT traffic control were called to the scene after US-59 south of Sallisaw at the Kerr Reservoir was completely shut down, directing motorists to use I-40, SH-2 and SH-9, while the bridge was being inspected by ODOT engineers.
No injuries were reported during the incident and authorities are still trying to determine why the barge struck the bridge, as of press time.

Amie Cato-Remer
Editor, Sequoyah County Times