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Arkansas agencies reassure the safety of state bridges after Baltimore bridge collapse

ARDOT and the Army Corps of Engineers discuss safety precautions of state bridges over the Arkansas River.

ARKANSAS, USA — After the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, and with the fatal Webbers Falls bridge collapse only 22 years ago on the Arkansas River, 5NEWS reached out to state agencies in charge of safe traffic on Arkansas commercial waterways. 

Jay Townsend with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the group is responsible for the safe transportation of commercial shippers through the 13 locks and dams up and down the Arkansas River.

Townsend says strict rules are enforced to ensure the safety of the vessels transporting under the bridges, as well as those traveling on them. 

"We developed a manual for all mariners. It gives them the speed limits as they approach our locks and dams. It tells them how fast they can leave them. If we've got big outflows in some of the locks and dams, then we make the mariners come to a complete stop," Townsend said. "And we also require them to have deck hands on deck with ropes in case something breaks free to prevent an accident like that from happening here."

Townsend said one 15-barge tow is equivalent to 780 18-wheelers. With such big cargo, it's imperative the lock masters are monitoring the river at all times.

"That's why you've got to control their speed as they're approaching our structures and bridges. That ensures that if they do collide with something, that it's not at a high rate of speed that would cause a lot more damage," he explained.

If an accident were to take place along other parts of the river— not including the locks and dams— the Coast Guard would be called.

Townsend concludes, "Between the Army Corps of Engineers, Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), and the Coast Guard, we're in constant communication, and we're constantly letting each other know if there's risks that need to be mitigated. So we think we're very well prepared and that we can prevent an incident like what happened in Baltimore from happening here."

According to a report by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Arkansas's "deteriorating infrastructure impedes the state's ability to compete in an increasingly global marketplace."

"Success in a 21st-century economy requires serious, sustained leadership on infrastructure investment," said the ASCE, "delaying these investments only escalates the cost and risks of an aging infrastructure system, an option that the country, Arkansas, and families can no longer afford."

ARDOT sent 5NEWS a statement saying, "The vessel that collided with and collapsed Baltimore's Francis Scott Key bridge is considerably larger than vessels that use Arkansas' navigable waterways. ARDOT bridges over navigable waterways are either designed to resist impact from a vessel collision or have protection devices such as steel cells filled with rock or fender systems."

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