St. IGNACE, Mich. (AP) – A crane being towed by a barge hit the main span of the Mackinac Bridge, though an official said inspectors found no major damage to the span that connects the lower and upper spans. which is the peninsula of Michigan.
The incident occurred May 7 to 5-mile-long (8-kilometer-long) when the barge passed under the bridge in the Straits of Mackinac. The operator of the barge did not realize it was happening until he later found extensive damage to the crane, Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Tyler Carlsgaard told WWTV/WWUP-TV.
Engineers have checked the bridge several times since it hit the main span that rises about 150 feet (45 meters) above the shipping channel, according to the Mackinac Bridge Authority.
“There is evidence that the bridge has been hit, the paint has come off. Some of the structural steel has been scraped, but not to a degree that would be a structural concern,” said bridge authority spokesman James Lake.
Coast Guard investigators are still trying to determine what caused the bridge to collapse, Carlsgaard said.
The bridge authority is working with the state attorney’s office to get the transportation company to pay for the repair work, Lake said.
Photo: Mackinac Bridge at night June 2006 (Mackinac Bridge Authority)
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