Runaway barges coralled
BROWNSVILLE – Nineteen barges that had been tied off along the banks of the Monongahela River broke free Tuesday afternoon, prompting emergency officials to take preventive measures. Standing along the bank of the river, Chief Woody Nicholson of the South Brownsville Volunteer Fire Department kept an eye on the barges, making sure they didn’t drift too close to either the Intercounty or the Lane Bane Bridge.
Not far off, Chief Todd King of West Brownsville Volunteer Fire Department was ready to close down the bridges if necessary; however, no action was needed.
The barges, owned by Consol Energy, wedged themselves against both sides of the bank about half a mile upstream from both bridges and stuck there until tugboats pulled them loose and crews were able to tie them off along the riverbank.
The barges, according to Nicholson, were being kept at docks owned by Brownsville Marine Products, a company that designs and builds marine products. Brownsville Marine is located at 1800 Paul Thomas Blvd.
A Brownsville Marine employee said the company rents out an area for Consol to store the barges and said Consol is responsible for “maintaining the fleet.”
When being stored, the Brownsville Marine employee said, barges are connected to each other and the last barge is tied off to a cell. If the last barge happens to break free, the entire fleet can drift away.
Officer Mike Hampe of the Brownsville Police Department said Fayette County 911 notified emergency personnel that the barges had broke free and were drifting down the river toward the bridges at 4:57 p.m.
Crews spent almost two hours getting the situation under control. The barges were tied off by 6:30 p.m., the crowds that gathered along the riverbank disbanding shortly thereafter.
While loose, Hampe said the barges moved slowly and were spinning around, blown about aimlessly by the wind.
Thankfully, the water level was down and the current slow, King said, and everyone was lucky the barges got stuck and didn’t cause any damage.
“We were ready to shut down the bridges if the barges kept coming,” he said.
King said the last time a barge hit a bridge was during the flood of 1985.
He said the Intercounty Bridge was shut down for a day after that accident, which caused minor damage to the bridge.
Had the barges that broke free Tuesday hit a bridge, King said the structure probably would have been shut down for a few days while the state Department of Transportation inspected it.
The U.S. Coast Guard, in addition local police, fire and ambulance crews, was also notified of the incident, according to information from 911.
A Consol representative could not be reached for comment.