Work Continues To Fix Sunken Barge In Chicago River
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The barge that sank Friday at the Randolph Street Bridge is going to get some patch work done before it's floated off for repairs, reports WBBM's John Cody.
Coast Guard Lieutenant Simone Mausz says the first part of the job is over.
"They have been able to offload the cargo which was clay so they had a barge that was next to it with a crane and like a scooper so they just scooped out the cargo and put it into another barge," she said.
Lt. Mausz says when scuba divers spot holes, welders will patch them up. Then repair crews will pump water out of flotation spaces and haul the barge off for repair.
She says the river channel at the sinking site is down to 50 feet, wide enough for local river traffic, but not enough for other wide barges until the sunken one is refloated and removed.