It wasn’t on the magnitude of the barge collision that brought down the Interstate 40 bridge over the Arkansas River and killed 14 people in 2022, but a barge incident occurred Saturday and resulted in the temporary closure of a state highway near Sallisaw.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported the US-59 bridge over the Arkansas River was struck by a barge Saturday afternoon.
Engineers from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation inspected the structure and determined it was safe to reopen for traffic.
The highway bridge is near the Sequoyah/LeFlore County line.
An investigation is underway and it has yet to be revealed why the barge struck the bridge.