One of the construction barges, stuck just north of Harper’s Ferry.

/ Loudoun County Sheriff's Office

One of the two escaped construction barges stuck on the rocks in the Potomac River has been safely retrieved, and crews are working to remove equipment that spilled into the river from the barge earlier this week. Another barge, carrying a Caterpillar excavator, is still stuck in the river just north of Harper’s Ferry, WV.

The two barges broke loose from their moorings over the weekend, and were carried downstream by the churning, muddy waters of the river, engorged after two days of rain. Initially, there was concern the floating barges could pose a threat to area bridges, but they came to a stop on their own before reaching the historic town at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.

The first barge, carrying a Caterpillar excavator, broke free on Saturday evening, according to the National Park Service, while a second barge followed on Sunday afternoon.

The smaller barge, being retrieved by a tug boat. National Park Service

The larger of the two barges, carrying the excavator, is currently stuck just north of Harper’s Ferry, on the ruins of Dam 3, an area of rapids and rocks near mile 62.3 on the C&O Canal towpath. The second barge was stuck farther upstream, at Dam 4, at around mile 84.6 of the towpath in Sharpsburg, Md., but is now secured on the West Virginia shore.

This grounding isn’t quite like the infamous Ever Given, which got jammed between two banks of the Suez Canal in March 2021. Instead, these barges got stuck on the rocks below the water, more like the Evergreen vessel that ran into shallow, muddy waters in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay last month.

“There were attempts made to snag them,” says NPS spokesperson Christiana Hanson. “But the water levels were not safe for boats to go into, so we were waiting for them to come to a stop on their own.”

The barges were being used in an NPS construction project to shore up the towpath at McMahon’s Mill, about 3 miles north of Dam 4. The barges were loaded with stones and equipment being used to raise the level of the trail near McMahon’s Mill, which floods “many times” each year, according to NPS, requiring trail uses to take a 3 mile detour.

On Tuesday afternoon, NPS reported that equipment had slipped into the river, off the deck of the smaller barge.

“This includes a mini-excavator, sand sacks, a cement and a lime pallet, a 20-foot gangway, a mortar mixer, and a variety of hand tools,” Hanson wrote in a press release.

The smaller barge, secured by the shore. National Park Service

There was concern that the smaller barge could free itself as flood waters receded, but on Thursday, the river slowed down enough that it was safe for crews to retrieve it. Contractors used a tug boat and two other supporting boats to tow the barge to the Maryland side of the river, where they were able to secure a generator still on the barge. They then pulled the barge a half mile downstream to a private residence, where it is now securely tied, according to NPS.

NPS is coordinating with the Maryland Department of the Environment, preparing for a potential spill response, and looking at other possible impacts from the material that went into the river, while contractors are now working on a plan to retrieve the material.

The Potomac crested in the area on Monday morning, but waters remained high for much of the week.

The pedestrian bridge that connects Harpers Ferry National Historical Park with the Maryland side of the river was temporarily closed due to high waters, but reopened at about 10 a.m. on Monday.

NPS warned users of the C&O Canal towpath that the trail could still be flooded, washed out or blocked by downed trees, even though the rain has stopped.

Some trails along the river were closed due to high waters. Billy Goat Trail Section A remained closed as of Friday morning.

Various agencies responded to the escaped barges, including Maryland Natural Resources Police and Maryland State Police, though NPS is taking the lead in the response. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office was on the scene Sunday, and said residents should sign up for traffic alerts or check the department’s social media “for any potential precautionary closures” of bridges across the Potomac, should the barges again break free.

As for how the barges got free in the first place, Hanson says that’s still unknown, but NPS plans to investigate. NPS will also look into what damage, if any, the barges may have caused during their journey downstream.

This story was updated to add comments from Christiana Hanson and new information as the waters receded.

Environmental reporting is funded in part by John and Martha Giovanelli.
Filed Under: c&o canal, harpers ferry, potomac river,