Eggners Ferry Bridge salvage work continues

KENTUCKY TRANSPORTATION CABINET PHOTO

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet technicians have placed laser markers on the U.S. 68/Ky. 80 Eggners Ferry Bridge that will allow the Kentucky Transportation Research Center to detect movement down to a fraction of an inch. The focus of the ongoing study is the stability of three piers that may have been damaged when the cargo ship Delta Mariner struck the bridge, knocking a 322-foot span into Kentucky Lake on the night of Jan 26.

As a backup to the high-tech monitoring, engineers are taking a more traditional approach by surveying the bridge structure and continuing a variety of other prep work aimed at gathering detailed information that may be required to repair the structure.

Meantime, salvage workers successfully cut the Delta Mariner free from subsurface bridge debris at 10:15 a.m., Monday, and continue removing remaining portions of the bridge from the bow of the ship.

“The salvage operations are proceeding as planned, and it is a significant milestone that the ship has now been relocated downriver and clear of the Eggner Ferry Bridge,” said Cmdr. Claudia Gelzer, commanding officer of Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Paducah.

A 25-foot Response Boat-Small and crew from MSU Paducah remain on site to ensure safety of salvage operations.

The Coast Guard is working closely with the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, Foss Maritime and Marshall County Sheriff's Office.

The investigation into the cause of the incident is ongoing.