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I-40 bridge disaster

The I-40 Bridge Disaster was a boating accident that occurred in Webbers Falls, Oklahoma on May 26, 2002. Joe Dedmon, captain of the tugboat Robert Y. Love, experienced a blackout and lost control of the ship. This, in turn, caused the barge he was controlling to collide with a bridge support. The result was a 580 foot (180 m) section of the I-40 bridge plunging into Kerr Reservoir on the Arkansas River. Due to the location of the accident, automobiles and tractor trailers fell into the water, killing fourteen people.

An estimated 20,000 vehicles per day were rerouted for about two months while crews rebuilt the bridge. Traffic resumed Monday, July 29, 2002, only two months after the disaster. The reopening set a new national record for such a project, which would usually take six months, according to Federal Highway Administrator Mary Peters.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Granville railway disaster - Train hits piers
• Big Bayou Canot train disaster - Amtrak Train plunged off bridge that had been hit by a barge.
• List of bridge disasters

External links

• Day-by-day account
• Article from 'The Oklahoma Daily'
• Article from 'The Oklahoman'
• Article from CNN
• Fainting spell led to barge crash, bridge collapse, NTSB concludes
• Aerial Photo Gallery

Coordinates: 35.4861° N 95.0991° W