Ohio River barge traffic resumes after closure near Cairo, IL

[WorldNews]

(Reuters) - Commercial navigation on the lower Ohio River near Cairo, Illinois, has resumed following a brief river closure early on Wednesday after a barge tow struck a highway bridge and its 12 corn barges broke free, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The Cairo highway bridge sustained only cosmetic damage and nine of the breakaway barges were undamaged, a Coast Guard spokesman said. High water has restricted shipping traffic on the lower Ohio River this month as melting snow and heavy rains swelled the major grain shipping waterway that links eastern Midwest farm areas with export terminals at the Gulf of Mexico. Several grain elevators along the Ohio River are unable to load barges because vessels do not have access to grain loading spouts.

 

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