A federal judge has ordered Marquette Transportation Co., Padukah, Ky., to pay the city of Little Rock, Ark., more than $4.3 million for damage caused when a breakaway barge struck a protective cell at the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge in 2021.
U.S. District Judge Brian S. Miller issued the order July 17, awarding the city $4,364,618 in damages, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The Sept. 10, 2021, incident occurred when a breakaway barge being pushed by the Kieffer E. Bailey struck a protective cell in front of the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge on the Arkansas River. The cylindrical structures are designed to prevent vessels and barges from striking the bridge's supports.
Little Rock filed suit against Paducah, Ky.-based Marquette Transportation and related entities in federal court in 2023. The city ultimately sought approximately $6.5 million in damages, an amount Miller reduced in his ruling.
Marquette and Gulf Inland argued that the protective cells had not been properly maintained by the city and that the barges were not traveling fast enough to cause the level of damage claimed, the Democrat-Gazette reported.
Miller rejected those arguments, finding that the impact was sufficient to overturn the protective cell regardless of its condition.
The $4.36 million award includes $3.05 million for construction and installation of a replacement cell, $550,000 to remove the damaged structure, $762,416 for engineering, permitting and design, and $5,625 for inspections of the bridge and protective structures following the allision.
“The City’s evidence regarding the replacement cost of the cell is reasonable, notwithstanding the evidence that it did not fully bid out the project,” Judge Miller wrote.
The judge reduced several costs sought by Little Rock. The city requested $2.15 million to remove the damaged cell, which Miller determined was unreasonable and roughly five times the reasonable cost of the work.
The city owns the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge and is responsible for maintaining its protective cells. In July 2025, Little Rock officials sought $6.5 million in short-term debt to finance replacement of the damaged protection system, according to the Democrat-Gazette. The city subsequently authorized a $5.7 million construction contract in November 2025 to demolish and replace the damaged structure.
The damaged cell had also drawn attention from the Coast Guard. In October 2024, the agency warned Little Rock that it could face civil penalties of up to $35,516 per day if the city did not make immediate arrangements to repair or replace the damaged cell, the Democrat-Gazette reported.
