Saturday evening crews began the arduous task of removing the barge that broke loose from Nimitz Lake and flowed downstream and lodged against the Sidney Baker Bridge last Tuesday morning during the flood.

The barge platform is constructed of multiple sections of material about 8 ft by 40 ft...the size that can be loaded individually onto 18-wheel truck trailers and removed from the riverbed.

The first step the crews took was to lift up the front of the barge using air bags (roller bags) which are inflatable devices used to roll a heavy object.