Tagged: delta mariner

Governor Steve Beshear will be in Eddyville Tuesday with an update on repair work to the Eggners Ferry Bridge. Beshear along with Chief District Engineer Jim Lefevre and Tom Roberts of Hall Contracting will be at the Lyon County Riverport Authority at 1:30.

It’s likely they’ll discuss staging for repair work on the bridge that lost a 300 foot span after a cargo ship crashed into the road deck in January.

Joint U.S. Coast Guard/National Transportation Safety Board hearings on the January crash of a cargo ship into the Eggners Ferry Bridge concluded Friday with testimony from vessel pilot Michael Collins. Collins was the last in a line of Kentucky Transportation workers, ship crew and representatives of vessel owner Foss Maritime who testified on policy, regulations, bridge lighting and ship conditions. Foss Senior Vice President of Operations Scott Merritt gave testimony Wednesday. After the hearing concluded, he said he could not confirm if his company would seek litigation.

Testimony provided during the Coast Guard hearings on the crash that collapsed a portion of the Eggners Ferry Bridge has provided some answers for those who's livelihood depend on the bridge traffic. Some information shocked Aurora restaurant owner Bertha Wilson who attended hearings earlier in the week:

 “I guess it’s just real disappointing to know there just wasn’t better facets in place to check these navigation lights and things like that, and I’m kind of focusing for that first day because that’s when I was there and hearing that. It’s hugely important like we know now.”

The fourth day of the Eggners Ferry Bridge Hearings began with testimony from the former third mate on the Delta Mariner.

The first day testimonies in the Coast Guard’s Eggners Ferry Bridge hearing revolved around navigation lights. The hearing began yesterday and explored the causes of the January 26 incident involving a Foss Maritime cargo ship that collided with and collapsed a section of the bridge connecting Aurora to Land Between the Lakes.

The US Coast Guard will begin a formal hearing today to hear testimony regarding the collision between a cargo ship and the Eggner’s Ferry Bridge in late January. January 26th, the cargo ship Delta Mariner struck the span crossing Kentucky Lake causing portions to collapse. There were no deaths or injuries. Coast Guard officials say the purpose of the investigation is to examine the causes of the incident and make recommendations to help avoid similar incidents. It is not intended to determine civil or criminal responsibility.