LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Two of nine barges that were jarred loose from a tow on Christmas Day last year are still stuck against the McAlpine Dam and will likely remain there for several more weeks.
On the evening on Dec. 25, a tow vessel hauling 15 coals barges crashed into the Clark Memorial Bridge. Nine of the barges came loose from the vessel, floated down stream and came to rest against the dam. Seven barges have since been recovered by salvage workers, but two barges are still pinned against the dam.
"One of the barges in obstructing one of the gates from lowering," said Shawn Kenney with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "We're not able to lower that gate and slow the flow conditions, whereas the other ones we've been able to lower the gates and allow them to work in slack water."
Kenney said part of why it's taken so long has been the high water of the Ohio River.
"We've been slowed down quite a bit by the high water we've had," he said. "Most of the month of February, they were unable to work because of the high flow conditions. There have been a total of three time periods since January that they've had to suspend work because of the high water."
The first steps of the recovery process was to extract as much coal as possible for the barges. That's been completed, but it's unclear how much coal may have spilled into the river.
Tennessee Valley Towing, the company in charge of the tow that crashed, is responsible for paying for the clean up.
The U.S. Coast Guard has not released the cause of the crash.
Related Stories:
- Crews to resume salvage operation for barges stranded on Ohio River
- Environmental concerns raised as 7th barge sinks into the Ohio River after crash
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