This bridge collapse is unlike anything I can recall seeing in the U.S.
Thank goodness it happened at 130am and there were limited cars on the bridge. Hard to imagine many folks surviving that what with the twisted metal and their cars pulling them down into the water. Just terrifying.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge is a major, major thoroughfare, with 31,000 vehicles per day crossing it. I cannot even imagine the commuter nightmare it is going to create in Baltimore. It will probably takes years to rebuild something like that.
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
Very scary. I hope the number of deaths and injuries are minimal. Hopefully all resources necessary will be channeled to replacing the bridge as quickly and safely as possible.
I know the great inconveniences caused when major stretches of critical highways collapsed in Atlanta and Philly, in addition to the Minneapolis bridge Clem mentioned above. This might not have quite the same traffic levels but replacing a large bridge is a much bigger project than a segment of a surface road.
It’s part of 695 and one of the 3 or 4 primary routes one can use to get through Baltimore if you’re traveling on I-95. We do it several times a year heading out of Philly.
Just absolutely insane to see. Pure speculation but this reminded me of the Exxon Valdez where it was like the captain has to have been grossly negligent or Intoxicated to make that level of error.
Devastating event and hoping they are able to get folks out of that river.
The lights on the ship go out a couple times as the ship approaches the bridge, indicating a possible loss of power and control, unless the lights were “blinked as a warning of imminent disaster.
I went over the Schoharie bridge in Albany a day before it collapsed. NYS Interstate highway bridge. Unlike Baltimore, the fact that it happened at night had many drive off the ends well after the collapse. It still weirds me out thinking about it.
Guy at the desk by me is from Baltimore. I'm sure he is devastated
I remember a span falling off the Mianus River bridge on I-95 between Greenwich and Stanford, CT. It was thankfully fixed relatively quickly.
Last edited by OldPhiKap; 03-26-2024 at 07:52 AM.
Stuff like this is the reason they put local pilots on board to navigate out of harbors with all their tricky stuff...currents, piers, bridges, etc...Reportedly there were two on board...
The Sunshine Skyway bridge on I-275 south of St. Petersburg FL is the closest comparison. Also hit by a barge/ship late at night. For that one, IIRC the bridge piers were built close to the main channel and ships had trouble navigating. Since the Key Bridge was built in 1977, unlikely that we’ll find out that would have been a real problem. My speculation is the ship had some catastrophic failure. Guarantee the new bridge will have addition protection for the piers (something that occurred at the sunshine Bridge.)
That part of I-695 is “out of the way” for primary I-95 traffic; it’s not a typical “main line”. Its 35K average weekday traffic is small compared to other major routes. The Harbor Tunnel (I-895) is at about 80K while the FortMcHenry tunnel (I-95) is around 145K. Looking at the area (and having driven to/though Baltimore often) it won’t affect the I-95 corridor that much, but will have a significant effect on local harbor traffic.
As with the I-95 collapse in Philadelphia, I expect emergency funds to be granted by USDOT, but it’s obviously a lot more complicated, and will take years in both design (50 years of progress in structural design; I don’t expect a similar design) and construction.
(When I woke up and saw the headline, I thought it was the Bay Bridge, which would have had a more drastic impact.)
Tragic! It’s going to mess up east coast shipping, too. B’more is a decent sized harbor - top 10 in the US I think.
-jk
Is there an audio of the collision? Curious as to whether the ship sounded the standard 5 blasts of the ship’s foghorn for imminent collision.
I am familiar with this signal from my navy days. I was working inside my radar 8 flights up, during our shakedown cruise - while refueling underway. I commented to a shipmate on the sound powered headset that the idiots were conducting a collision drill while refueling. Then we collided with the oiler. Wasn’t a drill. The oiler’s gyro compass had crapped out, causing them to veer off course and into my ship. I was the only injury (minor), as I was standing on a ladder inside the radar. The vibration 8 decks up was extreme, knocking me off the ladder.
The Baltimore Port is essentially cut off until the bridge debris is cleared out. Baltimore is regularly the number 1 port for Roll on-Roll off cargo, meaning cars, trucks, and tractors. Containers traffic is also very active. This will cause supply issues along the east coast