Barge strikes bridge in Oklahoma, halting highway traffic

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Highway closes in Oklahoma after barge strikes bridge

According to Oklahoma Highway Patrol, US-59 south of Sallisaw is shut down after a barge struck a bridge at the Kerr Reservoir. All lanes on the bridge later re-opened. (Dayton Holland)

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A large barge hit a bridge over the Arkansas River in Oklahoma prompting a nearby major highway to temporarily close Saturday, the highway patrol said.

According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the barge rammed into the bridge near the Kerr Lock & Dam on Saturday afternoon.

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  The Oklahoma State Patrol said Saturday that it closed a highway south of Sallisaw after a barge struck a bridge over Arkansas River. (Oklahoma Highway Patrol on Facebook)

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  The barge left a large mark on the bridge. (Oklahoma Highway Patrol on Facebook)

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  The barge rammed into the bridge in Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon. (Oklahoma Highway Patrol on Facebook)

Troopers closed South U.S. Highway 59 about 1:25 p.m. after receiving word of the incident and diverted traffic from the area, state patrol spokesperson Sarah Stewart said.

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There were no reports of injuries on the highway or the barge, Stewart said.

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  US-59 south of Sallisaw at the Kerr Reservoir was shut down on Saturday afternoon. (@OHPDPS on X)

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  The barge hit the bridge over the Arkansas River. (@OHPDPS on X)

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  The barge following the crash on Saturday afternoon. (@OHPDPS on X)

It was not immediately known what caused the barge to hit the bridge.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation later posted on X that the highway had reopened after engineers inspected the bridge.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. 

She is a native of Massachusetts and is based in Orlando, Florida.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X: @s_rumpfwhitten.