TAMPA, Fla. — Traffic is a mess in part of downtown Tampa because a drilling rid loaded onto a barge became entangled with a draw bridge.
Tampa's Kennedy Boulevard bridge is struck in the open position and the road will remain closed until at least Wednesday.
According to Tampa officials, the barge was carrying the drilling rig when the vessel got too close to the west side of the bridge. A cable on the drilling rig somehow became snagged around part of the draw bridge and as the vessel kept moving, the drilling rig was pulled almost off of the barge.
Engineers are now working to figure out how to free the rig cable from the bridge. Officials said they're bringing in a crane to remove the cable from the bridge, hopefully keeping the drilling rig from falling in the water.
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said the bridge could be closed for some time.
"It is not an easy fix. It will be a problem for a while. We don't know if there's any structural damage to what is a historic bridge," said Buckhorn. "Until we are able to stabilize that crane and remove the crane eventually from the water, we won't know the extent of the damage."
The Kennedy Boulevard bridge leads traffic in and out of downtown Tampa. Officials said a significant number of drivers are being affected by the closure.
WFTV
