Vine Street Expressway Between I-76, Broad Street To Remain Closed Until Thursday Afternoon As Crews Work To Remove Barges
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Officials are working on a plan to retrieve barges stuck on the Vine Street Expressway bridge along the Schuylkill River. The Vine Street Expressway between Interstate 76 and Broad Street will remain closed through Thursday afternoon as crews continue to work on removing the barges that broke loose and drifted down the river during intense flooding from Tropical Storm Isaias.
The barges are expected to stay put until at least Thursday. Crews need to wait for the water level to go down before tug boats can help pull them away.
Three barges broke loose drifting down the river before stopping at the Vine Street Expressway bridge.
Now, they are resting under the Vine Street Expressway bridge.
The barges had people on a nearby jogging trail stopping in their tracks.
"It's definitely shocking, I was not prepared for that on my run today," Josie Maniero said.
Officials say the storm caused the Schuylkill River to swell and the white crane barge became unsecured, along with two hopper barges tied to it.
The barges were then carried down the river and the crane slammed into the bridge.
The barges were being used for a dredging project that started in June and would have removed six feet of sludge.
The river overflowed so much Tuesday that many boathouses were flooded and crew teams were left a muddy mess.
"Got a lot of work to clean up, get the mud out, clean the boats," said Brian Severi, coach of the Germantown Friends School crew team.
The company working on the project is Atlantic Subsea of Bridgeport, New Jersey, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.
CBS3 reached out to ask Atlantic Subsea why the barge was not secured given the impending storm but have not heard back at this time.