BARGES WRECK; 130 BARGES BREAK MOORINGS NEAR ST. LOUIS

PADUCAH, Ky. -- The Interstate 24 bridge across the Ohio River between Paducah and Metropolis, Ill., was closed for more than an hour Saturday afternoon after a towboat hit the bridge.

The U.S. Coast Guard at Paducah is investigating a collision in which a barge tow scraped a bridge pier.

Traffic over the bridge was closed 1 1/2 hours, said petty officer Roy Barger of the Paducah Coast Guard office.

The incident was the second involving barges during the weekend.

An 11-mile section of the Mississippi River south of St. Louis re-opened late Saturday to all boat traffic, a day after 137 barges broke loose from their moorings. Thirteen were still missing somewhere along the busy waterway late Saturday.

Besides the missing 13, one barge sank with its cargo of grain, said Coast Guard Lt. David Baugh.

Baugh said some of the barges could be just below the surface, or they may be pushed up in the trees or on shore, or they may be in with the other barges.

"We're still trying to get an accurate count," Baugh said.

The breakaway is thought to have started when about two dozen barges floated free at an assembly area near the Busch Brewery in St. Louis. As those barges floated downstream, they apparently crashed into other barges and broke them loose, Baugh said.

Most were empty or loaded with grain, and no hazardous materials were involved.

At least 25 towboats responded to a call for help and rounded up most of the barges by midnight Friday.

St. Louis's Jefferson Barracks Bridge was hit by at least one barge, but no serious structural damage was found and the bridge was reopened to traffic early Saturday.

The 10-mile section of river that remained closed to traffic Saturday extended downstream from the St. Louis harbor.

Although below flood stage, the Mississippi has been running high. Barges commonly break loose during high water because of the amount of floating debris and rapid currents, Baugh said.