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Loose Barges Temporarily Shutter Multiple Pittsburgh Bridges

Keith Srakocic
/
AP
A towboat is seen through an office building window as it pushes a barge through floating ice on the Ohio River past the West End Bridge in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015.

Pittsburgh officials say multiple bridges are now reopened after barges got loose and began floating down the Monongahela River.

ThePennsylvania Department of Transportation says five bridges were shut down early Monday morning because of the loose barges.

The incident shut down the Liberty, Smithfield, Fort Pitt, West End and McKees Rocks bridges. The DOT says in a tweet all four bridges were reopened as of 9 a.m.

Bridge inspection crews were dispatched to determine if any of the spans were damaged by the runaway barges.

Officials are urging drivers to avoid the affected areas due to heavy traffic.