2001 — Sep 15, Barge hits Queen Isabella Causeway, span collapses, Port Isabel, TX– 8

— 8  ABC 13, Houston, TX. “10 Years Since Accidental Collapse of SPI Bridge.” 9-15-2011.

— 8  Khalifa. “Painful Lessons after the Fact.” Coast Guard Proceedings. Summer, 2006, p. 54.

— 8  USCG. Formal Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding… 4-28-2005.

 

Narrative Information

 

ABC 13: “South Padre Island, TX… a barge…hit the [Queen Isabella Causeway[1]] bridge on Sept. 15, 2001, bringing down a portion of the span and killing eight people…. The accident occurred 10 years ago, when, in the early-morning hours, a 240-foot section of the causeway was knocked out when a tugboat pushing four steel-laden barges lost control and steered the load into a concrete support column. Six vehicles drove into the void. Only three people were pulled from the water alive. For several days law enforcement agencies and other rescue personnel searched the murky waters of the Laguna Madre for victims. The last body was recovered Sept. 24. Killed were

 

Robert “Bob” Harris,

Hector Martinez Jr.,

“Harpoon” Barry Welch and

Chelsea Welch, all of Port Isabel;

Julio Mireles of Los Fresnos;

Robin Leavell of Mercedes;

Stvan Francisco Rivas of Humble; and

Gaspar S. Hinojosa of Kingsville.

 

“….The rebuilding of the bridge began shortly after it collapsed. Predicted to be completed in December 2001, the causeway reopened before schedule, during the Thanksgiving holiday. New security measures were included in the rebuilding project. A fiber-optic warning system has been installed on the bridge, which is supposed to warn motorists if something happens to the bridge. There are also crossing arms that block bridge entrances. The warning system is checked periodically to ensure that it is operating correctly. Signs and warning lights are posted along the bridge advising drivers to immediately stop if the lights are flashing. A sort of “fender bender system” was also installed around the columns at the base of the causeway pillars, which make it difficult for a barge to strike the bridge.

 

“Several lawsuits were filed against the Brownwater Marine Service Company, which owned the tugboat. Most of the lawsuits were settled in June 2005.

 

“A May 2005 U.S. Coast Guard report about the collapse found that the tugboat captain failed to prepare for a turn toward the causeway, which caused the crash into the bridge. It also took issue with the tugboat’s horsepower.” (ABC 13, Houston, TX. “10 Years Since Accidental Collapse of SPI Bridge.” 9-15-2011.)

 

Khalifa: “….The circumstances surrounding the collapse of three piers along the bridge on September 15, 2001, are both frightening from a human interest perspective and laden with reasons that reinforce the Coast Guard’s stepping up its regulatory role in commercial towing. Indeed, many of the recommended measures based on the investigation of the allision between the barge tow M/V Brown Water V with the Queen Isabella Causeway, in which eight people were killed after driving off the severed bridge, consistently return to enforcing strict rules for inland waterway towing vessels and their operators.

 

“According to the investigation, the apparent cause was ultimately the negligence of the towing vessel’s relief pilot. However, three subsequent agency endorsements emphasized the role of contributing factors, among them how strong currents affect massive barges, as well as towing vessel limitations that can arise with certain barge configurations. Other key navigational and transportation issues were also addressed. These included the installation of driver alert mechanisms along the Texas bridge, voyage planning analysis procedures, and enhanced anchoring standards. But for the most part, the report and the endorsing memos sent a strong message to the private towing industry calling for improved voyage planning in intracoastal waterways. [p. 54]

 

“The Incident

 

“In the dark, early morning hours of September 15, 2001, the Brown Water V was pushing four loaded hopper barges in single file through the channel between the Texas mainland and Long Island. The channel moves into the Laguna Madre (“Mother Lagoon”) before entering a bend, toward the Queen Isabella Causeway Bridge. The bridge carries the only road that connects South Padre Island, a popular Texas tourist destination, to the mainland.

 

“The vessel departed from Brownsville, Texas, earlier that evening, under the control of the vessel’s pilot; at midnight the relief pilot took the helm. The vessel was headed northeast along the waterway, where it would clear the Long Island Swing Bridge at 1:45 a.m. and enter into the Laguna Madre channel. Exactly 15 minutes later, it veered west of the navigation channel and allided almost head-on with the Queen Isabella Causeway Bridge.

 

“The towing vessel’s four barges, which carried nearly 3,000 tons of steel and phosphates, collided with the piers that support the bridge, which caused the collapse of two 80-foot sections. This collapse caused vehicles to plunge 85 feet into the water, through the missing bridge sections, resulting in eight deaths and three injuries. The first barge snapped upon impact, and currents forced the vessel and remaining barges westward, away from the allision point. Later that day during the rescue search, a third section of the bridge collapsed but caused no injuries.

 

“The Investigation

 

“Hearings over the allision between the Brown Water V, which is owned and operated by Brown Water Marine Services Inc., and the Queen Isabella Causeway commenced almost immediately following the event. The damaged bridge, which is the longest in Texas at 2.37 miles, crippled the economy of South Padre Island in the three months that it remained closed for repairs, according to a report in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.[2]

 

“The ‘One Person Formal Board of Investigation’ report examined nearly 20 separate topics to declare an ultimate, single determination of the apparent cause. As stated in the report: ‘The apparent cause of this casualty was [the relief pilot’s] failure to exercise reasonable care according to the standards of the ordinary practice of good seamanship.’ The section concludes with the statement: ‘There were no contributing causes to this casualty.’….” (Khalifa. “Painful Lessons after the Fact.” Coast Guard Proceedings, Summer 2006, p. 56.)

 

Sources

 

ABC 13, Houston, TX. “10 Years Since Accidental Collapse of SPI Bridge.” 9-15-2011. Accessed 11-5-2015 at: http://abc13.com/archive/8355187/

 

Khalifa, Daisy R. “Painful Lessons after the Fact. Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge allision sends a call to towing operators for best practices.” Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council (Journal of Safety & Security at Sea). United States Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Summer, 2006, pp. 54-60. Accessed 11-5-2015 at: https://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/archive/2006/Vol63_No2_Sum2006.pdf

 

United States Coast Guard. Formal Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Allision Between the Barge Tow of the M/V Brown Water V and the Queen Isabella Causeway Bridge on September 15, 2001, in Port Isabel, Texas, Resulting in Multiple Loss of Life. Washington, DC: USCG, U.S. Department of Homeland, 4-28-2005. Accessed 11-5-2015 at: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg545/docs/documents/BrownwaterV.pdf

 

 

[1] Has since been renamed the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge.

[2] Corpus Christi Caller Times, by Lety  Laurel, Oct 9, 2001.