A bridge on Interstate 10 in Texas was shut down indefinitely Friday morning after at least two runaway barges hit it overnight.
The bridge crosses the San Jacinto River about 15 miles east of Houston.
Witnesses told the the U.S. Coast Guard early Friday that nine barges had come loose from their moorings at a shipyard, the Associated Press reported. At least two of the barges struck the bridge. Video showed two barges pushed up against each other at the bridge, and one of them appeared to have collided with some bridge pilings.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said there is possible structural damage to the bridge. The bridge had already been closed to boat traffic due to strong currents, according to Fox 26, after torrential rainfall associated with Tropical Depression Imelda deluged much of Southeast Texas on Thursday.
Officials said the high water was hampering efforts to check the bridge damage.
The loose barges may have added to potential environmental impacts from the storm. A reporter with Fox 26 tweeted that the Environmental Protection Agency had confirmed that one of them hit a federal Superfund site and dump known as the San Jacinto River Waste Pits. The site used to be on land, but has sunk over the years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. There was no other immediate information on any damage.
The city of Houston also announced that there had been at least one wastewater spill related to the storm, according NBC News.
Several other portions of the interstate between Houston and the Louisiana state line, as well as multiple other roadways, remained closed Friday due to flooding, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
Drivers were advised to watch for detours.
“Those that are traveling I-10, you need to divert in Louisiana if you’re coming westbound,” Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Cpt. Crystal Holmes told The Weather Channel.
Holmes said first responders were still rescuing people from their homes in parts of the county Friday morning.
“We are still doing water rescues,” she said. “We have some citizens that we’re getting down into those areas and taking them out still. That portion at this point is almost complete.”
In Houston, fire crews had performed more than 900 water rescues and responded to more than 1,760 911 calls as of Thursday night.
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