A barge which hit a bridge in Texas has caused an oil spill and the closure of the only road to a small island.

The bridge which connects Galveston Island to Pelican Island was struck at 10am (CDT) this morning.

Ronnie Varela, of the Galveston’s Office of Emergency Management said that crews were working to clean up the oil spill.

Images show a large piece of the bridge has fallen off while trails of oil can be seen in the water.

In a statement, Texas A&M University at Galveston said: "The Pelican Island Bridge is closed to all traffic at this time due to a barge strike. Electricity has been restored and additional updates will be provided as the situation unfolds."

According to Galveston County OEM, the barge which collided with the bridge is owned by Martin Petroleum.

A spokesperson said that power was temporarily interrupted to Pelican Island, but secondary power has been restored.