Vessel Hits Bridge; Temporarily Averts Traffic

An accident closed the Sherman Minton Bridge for several hours this morning. WFPL’s Elizabeth Kramer reports.A vessel towing coal barges hit the bridge just after 5 a.m.Sergeant Jerry Goodin with the Indiana State Police says its officials were contacted soon after."We were told that there was some type of crash that had happened underneath of the bridge, watercraft had stuck the bridge," Goodin says. "So, obviously for safety reasons we shut down Interstate 64 there at the state line and rerouted traffic over to 265 onto I-65 South."Marvin Jenkins is the Indiana Department of Transportation, which was also at the scene."A bridge inspector with the Indiana Department of Transportation pronounced that it was superficial damage only," Jenkins says. "At that time it was pronounced it was safe for traffic. The road was reopened."The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the incident and the damage to the vessel itself, says Lieutenant Junior Grade Kirk Beckman.The Coast Guard reports the accident caused no pollution.