Barge companies have paid $3,200 to the Vicksburg Bridge Commission to cover costs associated with bridge strikes during this year’s spring Mississippi River floods.

AEP River Operations paid $1,610.06, and Marquette Transportation paid $1,626, said Herman Smith, superintendent of the bridge owned by Warren County.

Five barge tows struck the 78-year-old structure between March 26 and May 3 as the river rose to 50.9 feet, the highest recorded since 1973. Flood stage at Vicksburg is 43 feet.

Also, the top of a crane perched atop the deck of the MV Ergonaut, owned by Ergon, scraped the bottom of the span near the Louisiana side in the wee hours of the morning May 3. An inspection of the bridge by its structural engineering firm, HNTB, found no major plate cracks and painting will repair the damage, Smith said. Ergon Marine, whose boats were instrumental in rounding up loose barges during the hectic six weeks and in other barge hits over the years, will not be billed, Smith said.

During the coming months, commissioners said, they may move to replace clearance gauges on piers 3 and 4, the piers most often hit during the years.

Commissioners voted to request the permission from the U.S. Coast Guard to paint the markers at heights visible from above the water line in most cases. Three proposals have been taken and the cost is estimated at $20,000.

In other business, the board announced work to replace an electrical box at the east approach on the Louisiana side at a cost of $5,200. The bridge’s security cameras temporarily lost electricity for several weeks as waters receded in the spring.

Also, the commission received toll money from Kansas City Southern Railway for May and June totaling $203,216. Rail traffic for July was reported at 26,581 rail cars, up about 400 from June.