No damage to bridge hit by barges

The Mississippi Department of Transportation has completed inspections on the U.S. 84 bridge across the Mississippi River following a barge strike Sunday evening.

MDOT spokesman Jason Scott told The Natchez Democrat that the strike resulted in no damage and the results were only cosmetic in nature.

The strike happened Sunday after the tugboat Lindsay Ann Erickson was moving 21 barges upriver and bumped a bridge pylon, knocking the barges loose. Lt. Brian Porter of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River Public Affairs Office wouldn’t identify the pilot, but said 15 of the barges were carrying dry cargo while six others were empty.