Eleven industrial barges broke loose on the Ohio River on Thursday, prompting a temporary closure of the Milton-Madison Bridge connecting Kentucky and Indiana as marine recovery crews worked to secure the drifting vessels, according to local officials. The incident unfolded amid severe water conditions that caused the initial vessel to break free.
The disruption began at 8:37 a.m. when a single barge drifted away near the border communities of Milton, Kentucky, and Madison, Indiana, according to reports from Louisville station WAVE. As a towing vessel attempted to capture and recover the drifting craft, a tow wire parted under the strain. That failure unleashed 11 additional barges into the river current.
Bridge Closure and Marine Recovery Operations
According to Milton Fire and Rescue, the bridge closure began at approximately 11:15 a.m. Crews successfully corralled and secured all 12 loose barges by roughly 11:30 a.m., and officials reopened the span to motorists shortly after noon.
Despite the sudden nature of the breakaway, the United States Coast Guard and local emergency responders did not order a full shutdown of the Ohio River navigation channel during the incident.
Vessel Impact and Damage Assessments
Recovery operations avoided major structural damage to regional infrastructure, but the drifting barges impacted at least one working vessel on the waterway. According to WAVE, one of the loose barges collided with a dredge operating on the river. Marine inspectors launched a damage survey to evaluate the equipment following the impact.
One worker was aboard one of the barges when it initially broke away from its moorings. A nearby commercial vessel successfully intercepted the craft and safely recovered the stranded individual before emergency responders arrived on the scene. Local officials confirmed that no injuries were reported among crew members or emergency personnel throughout the multi-hour recovery operation.
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