Crane on a barge strikes Jacksonville's Hart Bridge with traffic on the span

A Florida Department of Transportation spokesperson said the barge was trying to pass under the bridge when the crane hit the span, News4JAX reported. FDOT crews arrived within 20 minutes with an under-bridge inspection unit, backed by safety boats, engineers and maintenance staff. The department said it shut the bridge as a precaution until inspectors confirmed the structure was safe. It has not described any damage.

The company that owned or was moving the barge has not been identified, while the U.S. Coast Guard wraps up its response to the incident. Coast Guard rules (46 CFR 4.05) require a vessel's owner, operator or person in charge to notify the Coast Guard right away after an unintended strike on a bridge and to file a written report within five days. First Coast News reported that it was still unclear how the crane hit the bridge.

NOAA's U.S. Coast Pilot lists the Hart Bridge's vertical clearance at 135 feet, rising to 141 feet at the center of the span. The same guide warns that the bridge's piers stand in a nearly 90-degree turn of the river channel at Commodore Point and advises poor-handling vessels to use assist tugs there.