Focus at Four: Expert on the Pelican Island Bridge collision
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Pelican Island Bridge near Galveston has been reopened to vehicle and pedestrian traffic less than a week after a barge collided with the bridge and caused it to collapse.
Not only was there damage to the bridge, causing issues for residents, but an estimated 2,000 gallons of oil were spilled in the surrounding waters following the collision.
Jim Kruse, the Director of the Center for Ports and Waterways at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, said the reason for the crash was partially mother nature.
“A tug was attempting to pull out two barges from that oil terminal when it lost control somehow, and the current and the wind and the tide all contrived together to push that barge right into the bridge,” he said.
Kruse said that the damage has not had much of an effect on the local economy.
“Fortunately, the Pelican Bridge marks the end of the Galveston ship channel. It really doesn’t affect traffic at all in terms of marine traffic in the area, the port’s not affected, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway has not been affected,” he said.
In the grand scheme of things, Kruse said the oil spill wasn’t as bad as previous ones, like Deep Water Horizon in 2010.
“As far as oil spills go, this was a fairly small one. They were able to control it and clean it up within 24 hours, which is really quick. It wasn’t a major spill, but any spill we want to avoid, obviously,” he said.
