Ohio River traffic was halted along a 42-mile stretch this week after water levels fell to critical lows behind a lock and dam that was jammed by the wreckage of a barge accident.
Salvage crews worked at the Belleville, WV, lock and dam to remove twisted coal barges from control gates that were stuck in the open position.
The jammed gates are keeping the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from controlling the water levels from Belleville to the Willow Island Lock and Dam above Parkersburg, WV. At midweek, the water was at 5.7 feet; normal level is 12 feet.