Hilton Head bridge struck by barge on Wednesday. Here’s where and what happened

A barge pushed by a tug boat hit one of the fenders protecting the pilings on J. Wilton Graves Bridge on U.S. Highway 278 Wednesday morning, according to U.S. Coastguard spokesperson Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan Dickinson.

Fender systems are structures underneath a bridge to keep boats from hitting and damaging the bridge structure below the road surfaces. In this case, they protected the Hilton Head bridge’s pilings from damage, and instead, the ship struck and collapsed the fender of the bridge section that crosses Skull Creek at mile marker 557.5. Dickinson said the bridge is safe for motorists to cross.

For boaters, the U.S. Coastguard placed a strobe light on the damaged fender, and they should proceed with caution. A press release requested boaters to minimize wake during any removal and repair operations, which will be conducted by the South Carolina Department of Transportation. There wasn’t information on when the removal and repair operations will start.

In Baltimore’s March Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, the bridge “didn’t have an obvious fender system, or protective barriers, to redirect or prevent a ship from crashing into the bridge piers,” according to The New York Times.

Dickinson didn’t have information on who owned the barge, how big it was, how many people were on the boat and whether anyone was hurt. He directed questions to SCDOT.

SCDOT spokesperson Hannah Robinson asked that questions be submitted via email to her office.

This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.