Officials with various agencies in Oklahoma say structural damage is believed to be minimal after two runaway barges slammed into the Webbers Falls Lock and Dam on Thursday.
The potential damage that could be caused by the barges, which got loose approximately 24 hours before striking the structure in Muskogee County, caused the closing of several bridges and mandatory evacuation of Webbers Falls.
According to the lockmaster at the site, three of the gates are partially blocked after the crash, and engineers said after initial observations, sure there isn’t structural damage that could cause a failure.
I-40, which was shit down in both directions for several hours, has reopened in the area after the inspection.
Read full update from officials:
TULSA – At approximately 11:58 a.m. Thursday 23 May 2019, two uncontrolled barges owned by Oakley Transport made contact with Webbers Falls Lock and Dam #16. The barges contacted the piers for gates 7/8/9 & 10, capsized and are currently submerged below the water on the upstream side of the dam.
Due to current water conditions, it is unclear at this time how much barge debris (if any) may have passed through the dam.
The Webber’s Falls Lock & Dam staff, in coordination with Tulsa District Water Managers, ensured all tainter gates were fully elevated in order to minimize damage in advance of the barge strike. However, at this time submerged barge debris is obstructing three gates (7, 9 and 10) from being able to fully close.
Tulsa District engineers were immediately deployed to the structure to inspect the integrity of the dam. Initial observations are that the structural damage is minimal. We found no integrity issues that make us concerned that it will not perform as designed.
We will continue to monitor and assess the dam as water conditions change. A copy of our assessment will be provided to Muscogee County Emergency Manager.
Tulsa District Operations Division leaders are coordinating with the barge owner (Oakley) to coordinate the salvage operation to remove debris from Lock and Dam #16. Simultaneously, the Tulsa District Environmental Specialist produced and submitted the necessary environmental reports and is coordinating with Oakley, the U.S. Coast Guard and others on the spill response (1,500-tons of phosphate based, non-toxic, fertilizer)
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