Crude Oil Filled Barges Freed after Weekend Grounding
Two double-skinned barges, loaded with approximately two million gallons of crude oil, grounded near the Galveston Causeway Bridge Sunday and were freed Tuesday. After many unsuccessful attempts to unground the barges with assist tugs Monday, the Coast Guard approved a plan to offload some crude oil to stand-by barges to lessen the weight and increase buoyancy, which freed them. Marine Safety Unit Texas City personnel were on scene throughout the offloading and reloading of the crude oil in order to ensure the evolution was successful and to investigate the cause of the grounding.
USCG, USACE Disburse Recovery Act Funds
On April 20, Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security revealed that four bridge alteration projects will receive funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that President Obama signed into law on February 19. Additionally, Secretary Napolitano announced that some ARRA funding would go toward building the edifices for various Coast Guard sectors, and for other functions around the country. ARRA allotted $240m to the Coast Guard. Secretary Napolitano indicated that $142m of that total will fund bridge alteration projects on the Mobile Bridge in Hurricane, Al.; the EJ&E Bridge in Devine, Ill.; the Burlington Bridge in Burlington, Ia.; and, the Galveston Causeway Bridge in Galveston, Texas.
