This article has been reprinted from the March 19 USDA Grain Transportation Report.
A towboat pushing 29 grain barges struck the Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge, near the towns of Luling and Destrehan, LA, in the New Orleans area, early in the morning of Sunday, March 15.
By the afternoon, the Coast Guard reported 26 barges had been recovered, two had sunk, and one had not been accounted for.
The Coast Guard closed the lower Mississippi between mile markers 115 and 122 in response.
No injuries occurred and no pollution was released in the incident.
The river reopened the following afternoon.
A grain barge typically carries 1,500-1,750 tons of grain.