Vessel Carrying Rocket Parts Hits Kentucky Bridge

Highway traffic in southwestern Kentucky is being delayed and detoured for miles after a cargo ship struck a bridge over Kentucky Lake, collapsing two of its spans.

The vessel Delta Mariner hit the Eggner Ferry Bridge, which takes Kentucky Route 80 and U.S. Highway 68 across the lake, at about 8 p.m. Thursday. No injuries were reported. State officials are inspecting the bridge, which opened in 1932, according to published reports.

The Coast Guard closed the area to maritime traffic.

Boeing uses the Delta Mariner, owned by Foss Maritime Co., to ship Delta IV rocket parts, including booster cores, to Air Force bases in Florida and California. The 312-foot vessel carries rockets from a plant in Decatur, Ala., to the Gulf of Mexico and then to Cape Canaveral in Florida or to California via the Panama Canal.

A photo tour of the Delta Mariner is available on Flickr.

-- Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @wbcassidy_joc.

-- Photo Credit: Boeing