1825-80 US-80 Rooster Bridge over Tombigbee River and 1979 Towboat Incident near Demopolis, AL

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

snopes

The Tombigbee was at a record high river level, so the procedure was to approach the bridge on the slack side, untie the tow and let it pass under the bridge. Then backup the towboat and go under the lift span on the other side of the river, chase down the tow and reattach. When the M/V Cahaba backed up, it did not stay square with the current, and the current twisted the towboat up against the bridge and shoved it under the bridge. The second description in snopes explains Captain Jimmie Wilkerson's "ride" under the bridge. One diesel kept running, and some comments indicated that they were able to finish their delivery. The following photos are screenshots from this video. The video has been used in training meetings to demonstrate the importance of keeping the water-tight doors closed.

James Morgan posted 15 photos with the comment: "I imagine most of you have seen this but for those who haven't -"

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15