GALVESTON, Texas (KIAH) – A barge slammed right into a bridge pillar in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the one highway to a smaller and separate island that’s residence to a college, officers mentioned.

The bridge that results in Pelican Island, north of Galveston, was struck by the barge round 9:50 a.m. when a tugboat backing out of Texas International Terminals, a gas storage operator situated subsequent to the bridge, misplaced management of two barges it was pushing, mentioned David Flores, a bridge superintendent with the Galveston County Navigation District.

“The current was very bad, and the tide was high. He lost it,” Flores mentioned.

One of the barges hit the bridge and two phone poles, he mentioned.

There had been no rapid reviews of accidents, though officers mentioned one particular person on the barge was knocked into the water and shortly rescued.

The tugboat was pushing what are referred to as bunker barges, that are gas barges for ships, Flores mentioned. The collision despatched oil spilling into the encompassing waters. The barge, which is owned by Martin Petroleum, has a 30,000-gallon capability, nevertheless it’s not clear how a lot leaked into the bay, mentioned Galveston County spokesperson Spencer Lewis. Lewis mentioned about 6.5 miles of the waterway had been shut down due to the spill.

The U.S. Coast Guard was figuring out the extent of the spill. They may also provoke the containment and cleanup course of.

The bridge, which is the one manner on and off Pelican Island, was closed off to all vehicular journey after the collision.

“The bridge will stay closed till it’s deemed secure to make use of,” an announcement posted on the City of Galveston’s Facebook web page mentioned.

A tugboat works to maneuver a barge away from the Pelican Island Bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, after the barge crashed into the bridge shutting down the one highway entry to and from the island. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News through AP)

Transportation officers began permitting automobiles to exit Pelican Island on Wednesday afternoon, however the bridge remained closed to all different vehicular site visitors.

Texas A&M directed all non-essential workers at its Galveston campus to go away as quickly as doable and mentioned it plans to stay closed till at the very least Friday. Students who reside on campus had been allowed to stay there, however college officers warned those that reside on campus and depart “should be prepared to remain off campus for an unknown period of time.”

One enterprise, Baywatch Dolphin Tours, mentioned they had been in search of the college’s approval to shuttle people off the island and had been planning the way to present a long-term service whereas bridge repairs are underway.

Aerial video confirmed parts of a rail line that runs parallel to the bridge on prime of the barge. Flores mentioned the rail line solely serves as safety for the construction and has by no means been used.

Pelican Island, which is related to Galveston by the bridge, is residence to a big shipyard, Texas A&M University of Galveston, and Seawolf Park, a former immigration station that now attracts vacationers to its iconic fishing pier and decommissioned U.S. Navy vessels.

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

The general ranking of a bridge relies on whether or not the situation of any of its particular person parts — the deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert, if current — is deemed to be poor or under.

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 element that absorbs the reside site visitors load — in “Poor Condition.”

The bridge has one predominant metal span that measures 164 ft (50 meters), and federal information reveals it was final inspected in December 2021. However, it’s unclear from the info if a state inspection passed off after the Federal Highway Administration compiled the info.

The bridge had a median each day site visitors determine of about 9,100, in response to a 2011 estimate.

The accident got here weeks after a cargo ship crashed right into a help column of the Francis Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, killing six building employees.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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