Fender protecting Hilton Head Island bridge damaged by barge (2024)

HILTON HEAD ISLAND — A barge struck a Hilton Head Island bridge in the early hours of May 8, damaging a fender, but sailing by without inflicting any major structural damage.

The Coast Guard responded to the J. Wilton Graves Bridge just after 4 a.m. May 8 following reports of a potential collision called in by the barge operator.

Investigators with the Coast Guard determined that the barge had struck the fender system meant to protect the bridge, said Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan Dickinson.

The structures are installed underneath bridges to keep boats, barges and other marine vessels from slamming into and damaging the span.

Though an investigation is ongoing, the South Carolina Department of Transportation doesn’t anticipate any impacts to bridge traffic, and impacts to vessel traffic are expected to be minimal, according to an email from DOT spokesperson Hannah Robinson.

“The fender system is similar to a guardrail on the interstate,” Robinson said. “SCDOT responded after the crash and has plans to repair the fender system for this bridge.”

The collision comes after a large cargo ship leaving the Port of Baltimore on March 26 lost power, rammed into a structural pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused a large portion of the span to collapse. The steel bridge was built in the 1970s and was part of Interstate 695, which encircles the city.

Experts told NPR that if the Baltimore bridge had been outfitted with more robust collision-prevention structures, it may not have been struck.

The J. Wilton Graves Bridge crosses Skull Creek and is one of four bridges used to travel on and off Hilton Head Island. Opened in 1982, the bridge was built in place of the James F. Byrnes Bridge, which was struck by a barge in 1972.