AURORA, KY - The National Transportation Safety Board says Kentucky had received a warning about downed lights on the Eggner's Ferry Bridge a month before a barge struck it and caused a 322-foot span to collapse into the Tennessee River.
 
The NTSB sent a letter to Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear on Wednesday, outlining the warning by the U.S. Coast Guard and recommending that the state verify the operation of navigation lighting on all bridges over navigable waters. The board also recommended that the state develop inspection and maintenance procedures to keep bridge lighting reliable and maintained.
 
The span in Marshall County was knocked out Jan. 26 by an 8,200-ton cargo ship, the Delta Mariner. It reopened to automotive traffic in May.

In response, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said "...the safety recommendations are well conceived, and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has in fact already undertaken them. Specifiaclly, the lighting on each bridge over navigable waters in Kentucky has been reviewed and inspected. Our inspectors were furnished with US Coast Guard lighting requirements for each of the bridges and tasked with comparing the requirements to what they found. The job of correcting any deficiencies is ongoing."