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Gandy's big test coming Monday

The bridge, damaged after a barge smashed into it, has handled traffic well, but repairs and parents returning to work will change things.

By JUSTIN GEORGE, STEVE HUETTEL and BILL VARIAN
Published April 1, 2006

[Times photo: Brian Cassella]

Crews continue repairs on the Gandy Bridge Friday after a barge slammed into a horizontal support beam Thursday and destroyed it.

TAMPA - Traffic flowed smoothly on Tampa Bay bridges Friday, a day after a barge loaded with about 1-million gallons of liquefied propane gas slammed into a beam supporting one lane of the Gandy Bridge.

But commuters will face a true test Monday when many parents return to work after taking a week off for their kids' spring break.

"To truly gauge the traffic impacts in Tampa Bay, we're going to have to wait till Monday," said Russ Handler, assistant operations director for Metro Traffic Control Inc., which saw light traffic Friday on all bay bridges.

Drivers will be funneled through a narrower bridge and find occasional delays because of construction work over the next two weeks.

The Coast Guard continues to investigate what sent the barge smashing into the bridge.

Jim Cobb, a Louisiana attorney representing the tug boat company towing the barge, said the the 3-inch-thick nylon rope connecting the tug and barge did not snap, as witnesses reported.

Instead, company officials think a hydraulic steering valve on the tug malfunctioned, leading to the accident. The barge punched through a horizontal support beam, knocking off large chunks of concrete.

"I guess we bought a 48-foot beam," said Cobb.

The Florida Department of Transportation estimated the repair and replacement cost for the steel-reinforced concrete support beam, one of five that run horizontally under the Gandy, at between $200,000 and $250,000.

While eastbound traffic was limited to one lane Friday, department officials expected to restripe the bridge, using the undamaged left shoulder to create two lanes by Friday night or Saturday.

About 31,500 drivers use the Gandy Bridge daily, the Transportation Department says. About 54,000 motorists use the Courtney Campbell Causeway while 134,500 take the Howard Frankland Bridge each day.

The Gandy's speed limit will remain the same, officials said, even though the width of the bridge will narrow while the right shoulder, part of the right lane and the support beam are being fixed.

Coast Guard investigators are still trying to determine exactly how the accident happened and why.

"We'll look into possible mechanical failures on the vessels, actions of the crew and environmental factors such as wind and current," Lt. Erich Stein, investigating officer, said in a statement.

Freeland Hollowell Jr., 48, was the pilot of the tugboat Crosby Skipper. The Alabama man has made "scores" of trips into Old Tampa Bay over 20 years, Cobb said, and is an experienced and safe pilot who passed a blood alcohol test after the accident.

The Transportation Department already has reviewed and approved the design of the replacement beam, which should arrive by Tuesday after the concrete cures. It's similar to the beam it's replacing, said department engineer Pepe Garcia, except that its being made of even stronger concrete.

A barge has been anchored under the Gandy to aid workers. The repairs may make it necessary to close one lane intermittently, officials warned.

But, they stressed, the bridge is safe for drivers.

"I guess I trust the engineers," said Andy Pederson, 43, of St. Petersburg, who drove the span three times Friday for his job repairing watercraft. "If they say it's okay, it is. I mean, who am I?"

"Yes," Manjriker Gunaratne, a University of South Florida civil engineering professor, said, backing the assessment "on a temporary basis."

Despite the inconveniences, many officials were relieved, knowing the accident could have been far worse had the barge been punctured and the liquefied propane gas leaked out, or ignited.

Gunaratne said engineers designed barges like the Apache with "double skinned" tanks that can withstand bumps with bridges.

Coast Guard inspectors said the Apache suffered only minor damage to its port bow. The independent cargo tanks within the barge hull were unharmed, and the agency has told the owners, Targa Resources, to repair the vessel before it sails again.

Targa Resources, based in Houston, is a large natural gas provider, according to the company's Web site. It owns 21 pressurized liquefied petroleum gas barges like the Apache.

LPG, the Coast Guard said, is the generic name for commercial propane and butane, which become liquid when compressed.

Cobb said the barge originated from Pascagoula, Miss.. When the tug failed to execute a right turn at Rattlesnake Point in Old Tampa Bay, then slammed into the bridge, it was en route to Targa Resources' terminal.

It's a trip the tugboat and barge have safely made together "scores" of times in seven years, Cobb said.

The Crosby Skipper is a 7-year-old, 3,600 horsepower ocean-going tugboat built in Houma, La., specifically to tow the Apache.

Owned by Crosby Tugs of Golden Meadow, La., the tugboat, which is under contract with the barge owner, had typically sailed to Port Everglades and Tampa from Venice, La., before Hurricane Katrina moved operations to Pascagoula.

Even though Hollowell is an experienced pilot in Old Tampa Bay, the tug took extra precautions navigating the tricky tides and currents near Rattlesnake Point. Two deputy pilots from the Tampa Bay Pilots Association were on board Thursday as observers, said Allen Thompson, association executive director.

Pleasure craft are far more common than tankers and barges on that part of Tampa Bay.

Only small construction barges sail under the bridges. Larger commercial vessels stay well away from the Gandy Bridge.

At Rattlesnake Point, a ship or tug towing a barge is common, arriving about every other day last year, according to the Tampa Port Authority.

Targa Resources, 5105 W Tyson Ave., is the destination for nearly half of the vessels.

Between 50 and 80 liquefied gas barges, each carrying up to 1-million gallons, dock annually at Targa, which supplies propane retailers including Suburban Propane and Ferrellgas in Tampa.

Jackson Shipping Inc. runs a 1,200-ton container ship from Rattlesnake Point once every 10 days to two weeks, said general manager Andrew Jackson.

[Last modified April 1, 2006, 00:55:17]