By LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / Febuary 15, 1999

RESERVE – Mississippi River traffic halted Friday morning as more than 100 barges broke free from Union Carbide in Reserve before dawn. Trafficwas paralyzed for 30 miles, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.Roundup activity was anticipated to take much of the day but be completed by nightfall.

Petty Officer India Roderick reported that the grain barges were still being corralled and steered toward the riverbanks, but not before at least three barges sank. Two more were sinking as of press time Friday morning.Loose barges damaged dock facilities at several locations, including Waterford 3 near Taft, Union Carbide, Occidental Chemical, Taft, and Triangle Fleeting in LaPlace.

The accident’s cause was unknown at last report but occurred at 3 a.m. Noinjuries or pollution was reported.

The Hale Boggs Bridge at Luling/Destrehan was closed to traffic from 4:47 to 5:40 a.m., according to Aaron Ertel of the St. Charles Parish EmergencyOperations Center, so drivers would not be distracted by the river activity and cause accidents on the bridge.

By 11 a.m., half of the barges were under control, with 25 tugboatsscurrying around in the 30-mile stretch from just north of Reserve to just north of the Huey Long Bridge, Roderick added.

She noted that one barge had completely sunken and two others were partially sunken. All contained corn, she added. They were located atHahnville, Norco and Destrehan.

Kirt Jacob of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Bonnet CarreSpillway said none of the barges approached that structure.

While all that was going on, at 8 a.m., the Belle Chasse ferry collided witha tugboat pushing three barges with flammable liquid.

One minor injury was reported and minor damage to the ferry.

The Marine Safety Office of the U.S. Coast Guard is investigating bothincidents. “We’re in the damage assessment phase,” Mitch Smith, portoperations director for the Port of South Louisiana, said.

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