Ship strikes Kentucky bridge, portion collapses

BENTON, Ky.?? State officials are inspecting what's left of a southwestern Kentucky bridge that collapsed after a cargo ship carrying aviation parts struck it.

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Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokesman Chuck Wolfe says inspectors began the in-depth review of the Eggner Ferry Bridge at U.S. Highway 68 and Kentucky Highway 80 at daylight Friday.

The Delta Mariner struck the main span Thursday evening. No injuries were reported.

"At this point, we don't believe there was any loss of life," said Keith Todd, spokesman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

He said there also were no injuries on board the boat. He was unable to say where the ship was traveling when it struck the bridge.

Officials said the collapse meant vehicles needing to cross the Kentucky Lake reservoir and the Tennessee River had to be detoured for dozens of miles. The Coast Guard blocked access to boat traffic at the bridge site.

'The road's gone'
Robert Parker, 51, of Cadiz, Ky., said he and his wife were traveling northbound on the highway after leaving his stepson's house in Murray, Ky. They were driving in the rain along the darkened bridge around 8 p.m. when they suddenly noticed a missing 20-foot piece of the bridge, which at that section stands at least 20 feet above the water.

"All of a sudden I see the road's gone and I hit the brakes," he said. "It got close."

Parker said he stopped his pickup within five feet of the missing section. Two cars behind him stopped on his bumper and he saw another car on the other side of the missing section stopped.

He said he didn't feel the vessel strike the bridge but "felt the bridge was kind of weak." They had to detour about 50 miles to return home to Cadiz.

Officials say about 2,800 vehicles travel daily on the bridge, which was due to be replaced.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46164194/ns/us_news-life/

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