By Nate Jones

Staff Writer

IF NOT BY LAND – Commuters heading south of Portland were discouraged early last Wednesday when the South Portland side of the southbound lane on the Casco Bay Bridge malfunctioned. US Coast Guard Lt. Lisa Tinker said a 95-foot tug and barge capable of carrying more than 21,000 gallons of fuel radioed the bridge at approximately 7 a.m. while departing the Fore River bound for New York Harbor. Department of Transportation Bridge Inspector Warren Knowles said bridge operators had some difficulty initially opening the bridge but managed to raise the gates despite a faulty limit switch. Tinker said the tug and barge – empty after unloading its cargo at one of the Fore River facilities –  collided with the bridge while passing through and although the accident resulted in no injuries or pollution, two 47-foot boat crews, one 26-foot boat and a 140-foot icebreaking tug were diverted to the scene of the collision.

“He just brushed [the bridge] a little,” Knowles said.

Once the tug and barge were through, bridge operators were unable to lower the southern portion of the southbound lane – Knowles said the same limit switch that made it difficult to open was acting up again and took crews about two hours to fix.

“It was a bad day for us,” he said. 

While this particular rush-hour electronic glitch required Portland Police to evacuate the southbound lane on the bridge and block off many one-way streets in the city, Knowles said it is not unusual for bridge operators to overcome delays. 

“There are a lot of fail-safes,” he said. “Most times people don’t even notice, it usually takes about 14 minutes and from time to time it will take us an extra five to figure it out.”