Runaway barge removed from Webbers Falls dam

WEBBERS FALLS, Okla. (AP) – One of two runaway barges that crashed into a dam and sank on top of the other in the Arkansas River in Oklahoma has been removed from the dam.

The barges carrying a total of about 3,800 pounds of fertilizer sank May 23 after crashing into the lock and dam at Webbers Falls, about 70 miles southeast of Tulsa. They had broken free from their mooring at the Port of Muskogee during historic spring flooding that waterlogged much of the Midwest down into Arkansas.

Port manager Fred Taylor said Tuesday it could take several weeks to completely remove both barges, which are to be used for scrap.

The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System runs from Tulsa to the Mississippi River and has been closed to barge traffic since flooding began.