Old Barge Contributed to Football Field-Size Logjam on the Riverfront
Byrne & Jones Construction’s marine division, Midwest Foundation, removed a barge that was a fixture on the Missouri River earlier this year. Originally placed to shield the old Goldenrod Showboat and other parts of the riverfront from flood debris, the hopper barge moored along on the bank of Saint Charles had served a useful life for the city. In recent years however, the barge became weathered from the river where it had been anchored since 2002. In that time, debris and drift had become lodged beneath the hull of the barge and in 2015, a logjam the size of a football field was featured on Fox 2 news.
The hopper barge had once been used to haul grain, but had been taken out of service. After the Goldenrod left the City, the barge was moved along the Saint Charles riverfront to deflect debris from a nearby deck barge and a pair of pedestrian bridges. Over the years, the force of the river, logs and other debris from upstream created holes in the barge. Midwest Foundation was contracted to remove it before it took on too much water or sank.
The removal operation entailed bringing a crane barge down to the riverfront and cutting the hopper barge from its spud anchors buried in the mud. Midwest Foundation then towed the barge to a place nearby Byrne & Jones headquarters in Bridgeton, Mo. where it was dismantled and sold for scrap. The spud anchors were also untangled from river debris and lifted out from the mud.
With the barge removed, debris in the river is now free to flow downstream.
Midwest Foundation serves public and private entities along rivers and lakes in the Midwest including the Illinois River, Mississippi River, Missouri River, Ohio River and other waterways. It operates a fleet of more than 70 barges and a tugboat, which it also leases along with crawler cranes with lifting capacities from 65 tons to 230 tons. For more information visit www.midwestfoundation.com
Byrne & Jones Construction is one of the St. Louis area’s largest commercial paving contractors. Founded in 1976, it serves its clients through six divisions – concrete, sports, asphalt, soil stabilization, marine and micro surfacing. In addition to its marine work, the firm builds and maintains parking lots, roads and highways, athletic fields, running tracks, tennis courts, underground drainage systems and paved surfaces. Learn more at www.byrneandjones.com.