MASON COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) - The Pomeroy-Mason Bridge reopened Friday after a barge crashed into a support pier, closing the bridge for several hours. After an inspection, it was determined the bridge was safe.
Runaway barges recovered; Pomeroy-Mason Bridge reopen
Austin Cole sat back and watched as a barge lost control, hitting the Pomeroy-Mason bridge right behind his catering business.
“It just swept completely sideways and then nailed the McDonald’s riverbank and then at that point, it kind of lost all the barges and they just kind of scattered all over the river,” Cole said.
Cole, a chef and owner of Culinary Art Company, said, “It was really loud. The barge crashed, and it was just a huge loud rumble and just started shaking around a little bit.”
The West Virginia Department of Transportation opened the bridge back up after rope crews and inspectors checked it out, finding no damage to the bridge.
“It was definitely a large enough vibration on that bridge to give it a real thorough look at,” Cole said.
After a much longer ride home from work Friday, neighbors were relieved and thankful they didn’t have to find another way to cross the river.
“I don’t think we’ll pull out the boat with the high water, but you know, hey if we’ve got to pivot, we’ll do what we’ve got to do.”
The DOT considered closing other bridges with barges out on the water, but they said all the runaway barges were recovered and there were no injuries reported.
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