The Oklahoma State Patrol said Saturday that it temporarily closed a highway south of Sallisaw after a barge struck a bridge over Arkansas River.
Troopers closed South U.S. Highway 59 about 1:25 p.m. after receiving word of the incident and diverted traffic from the area, state patrol spokesperson Sarah Stewart said. The bridge crosses the Arkansas River where it enters the Robert S. Kerr Reservoir.
About an hour later, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation said the bridge had reopened after engineers inspected the damage and deemed the bridge safe to handle traffic.
"US-59 is now OPEN at the Arkansas River, south of Sallisaw near the Sequoyah/LeFlore County line after a barge hit the bridge," the government agency posted to X. "Engineers inspected the structure and found it safe to reopen."
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There were no reports of injuries on the highway or the barge, Stewart said.
It was not immediately known what caused the barge to hit the bridge.
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The news came as engineers worked Saturday to lift a section of twisted steel from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland after it crumpled into the Patapsco River as a massive cargo ship crashed into one of its main supports.
