HOUSTON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Major highways remain closed over the Arkansas River in the U.S. state of Oklahoma as loose barges headed to crash into a dam, local authorities said Thursday.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation said the Interstate 40 bridge and a state highway bridge remain closed over the Arkansas River at Webbers Falls as a pair of barges that broke loose on the swollen river threatened to crash into Webbers Falls Lock and Dam 16. Residents of Webbers Falls were told to evacuate Wednesday night.

The barges are now stuck on rocks, said authorities, adding that they are still tied together, and crews are working to secure them. Emergency officials from the small town of Webbers Falls warned of catastrophic flooding if the barges struck the dam.

In 2002, a barge struck the Interstate 40 bridge pier at Webbers Falls, causing part of the bridge to collapse into the Arkansas River. Fourteen people died after their vehicles plunged into the water.

Meanwhile, near the Oklahoma city of Tulsa, water is released from Keystone Dam as the water level is 30 feet (about 9.14 meter) above normal in the Keystone lake where Arkansas river flows into.

The National Weather Service in Tulsa increased the forecast level of the Arkansas River from 21 feet (about 6.4 meters) to 23 feet (about 7 meters), putting the river in major flood stage.

Multiple streets remained closed and neighborhoods were evacuated in the city of Tulsa near the Arkansas River. Local officials are preparing for flooding equal to Tulsa's 1986 flood of record but cautioned Wednesday night that they do not necessarily expect the waters to rise to that level.

The flood of record in Tulsa-area occurred on Oct. 5, 1986, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released 307,000 cubic feet of water per second from Keystone Dam. The release rate on Thursday has increased to nearly 222,000 cubic feet per second from the dam, according to the authority. Enditem

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