Contractor works to recover sunken barge that hit Vicksburg bridge

Published 10:30 am Saturday, May 19, 2018

VICKSBURG, Miss. (AP) — A grain barge is coming off the bottom of the Mississippi River after it hit a bridge at Vicksburg and sank.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Erik Brehaut tells The Vicksburg Post that a contractor seeks to raise the barge Saturday.
Brehaut says a contractor built an A-frame at the site Friday to lift the barge.

He says the river’s channel isn’t blocked and vessels can avoid the sunken barge.

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The barge sank after it hit the older of two bridges at Vicksburg on Thursday.

The towboat Jeffrey G was traveling downriver with about 30 barges when the barges hit the bridge. Several others broke loose and had to be recovered.

The Jeffrey G is owned by Marquette Transportation Co. of Paducah, Kentucky. The towboat is based at St. Louis.