Baltimore Key Bridge Collapses. (Chester: 2015, inspection, cost of)

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Or even a few minutes earlier. The last of the traffic cleared the bridge about 45 seconds before the collapse. Unfortunately there were a bunch of construction vehicles parked on the bridge at the time. Only 2 of those workers survived and one is critical.

Now I just want you to sit back and imagine casually crossing a bridge and just as you reach the embankment of the shore you look back at your rear view mirror to see the entire bridge you just crossed which was perfectly fine and stable just seconds ago suddenly for some unforseen reason collapse into the channel. Would be terrifying.

Truly I hope there were no cars. I always have fears of bridges like these collapsing when Im on them.

[Charlestondata]

Originally Posted by NJ2MDdude

According to the linked photo below, the bridge piers weren't protected from collision.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.2190...2048?entry=ttu

Was the ship to close to the bridge to drop the anchor?

The Ravenel Bridge over Charleston Harbor is constructed so that even the largest ship would run aground before it could hit the bridge. I just read that this morning in a local ‘what if’ article. Farther up the Cooper River, the Don Holt Bridge will soon be replaced with a huge bridge like the Ravenel so that the world’s tallest ships can pass not only under the Ravenel as they do now, but also under the new bridge to get to a new terminal that will replace a recently closed huge paper mill.

[DaveinMtAiry]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Correct. Which is why the bridge had been shut down and there was no one on it, except for the construction workers, who apparently didn't get the message.

This is not true. If you watch the video you can clearly see cars on the bridge as it collapsed, the report was several cars went down. Oddly enough if you watch the video traffic was coming to stop right before the collapse, not sure what they saw in front of them as the strike and collapse were a second apart.

[BOORGONG]

Originally Posted by Johnhw222

Why did you assume pilot incompetence caused this.

Yes, that was maybe a bit rash. So, there was a mechanical/engine failure and not enough time to avoid collision.

The question now is: Were the bridge supports protected by rock buildup around the structures?
That’s something I found had been done around the bridge supports on the St Lawrence Seaway between Quebec City and Montreal which provides critical protection in the event of ship collisions. I suppose that this is what will be done around a newer bridge structure.

[Mike from back east]

Here's a list of the top 50 U.S. ports by tonnage. Bear in mind that this is for all types of tonnages and some of the ports in TX and LA are top heavy with massive petroleum cargoes.

Here's a list of U.S. container ports showing water depth, overhead clearances, etc. On the east coast only Miami exceeds 50' of water depth but Miami is at the lower tip of Florida making it a very long rail haul of boxes to inland areas which makes it cost prohibitive.

Here's a list of top container shipping ports in the U.S. Baltimore is 11th overall, 7th among East/Gulf coast ports. Charleston and Baltimore, maybe others, increased their water depths to accommodate the latest class of huge container ships. Other east coast container ports can pick up some of the slack. The CSX railroad is enlarging the Howard Street Tunnel to accommodate double-stack container trains to move west out of the port to inland destinations with work due to finish in 2027. Sitting near the top of the of the Chesapeake Bay, the port of Baltimore is 100+ miles closer to inland destinations than ports sited adjacent to the ocean and has historically given Baltimore a competitive edge over other ports.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by DaveinMtAiry

This is not true. If you watch the video you can clearly see cars on the bridge as it collapsed, the report was several cars went down. Oddly enough if you watch the video traffic was coming to stop right before the collapse, not sure what they saw in front of them as the strike and collapse were a second apart.

The latest reports are that the pilot called a Mayday and traffic was in the process of being stopped. I haven't seen anything other than contractors being on the bridge when it went down.

[Igor Blevin]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

I agree. One thing I thought was interesting is that they were able to stop traffic onto the bridge. Which doesn't really surprise me. I noticed in the video that traffic stopped flowing right before the collapse. But still it will be interesting to hear who and how they did that. Unfortunately it doesn't sound like anybody warned the construction workers to get off the bridge.

It is may or may not be standard procedure to close traffic to a major bridge in the dead of night when moving particularly large or heavy ships in and out. I don't know how that worked with the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

When I was assigned to work on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, we had a very large cruise ship come in one night. The ship had to wait for a time when low tide ocurred in the dead of night, with a planned 8 feet of clearance to the bottom of the bridge. I mean, it was close! The California Highway Patrol temporarily closed the Bay Bridge in coordination with that ship's sailing under the bridge.

That was a fun night. I still remember seeing that behemoth just creep beneath the Bay Bridge dead slow, with what looked like inches to spare from my vantage point on the wharf. There were hundreds of people up at 3 am watching that move. I only wish I could have been up on the bridge, but we minimized the number of people for safety reasons.

[Igor Blevin]

Originally Posted by Joakim3

It’s either Norfolk or NYC.

The container ships that enter Baltimore are to big to port in Delaware/Philly which creates a whole slew of issues.

So now instead of shipping goods to the door steps of a 10 million person region (DC-Baltimore CSA), you have to dock your shop +200 miles away and then truck/train any and every goods and any good currently in the port are effectively stranded for the next days-weeks.

It’s an nightmare logistics scenario for the entire NEC if there’s ever been one.

But great for if you own a truck freight company. One person's tragedy is another person's paycheck.

Just saying. Not saying it is a good thing.

[DaveinMtAiry]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

The latest reports are that the pilot called a Mayday and traffic was in the process of being stopped. I haven't seen anything other than contractors being on the bridge when it went down.

You can see cars and a tractor trailer clearly driving on the bridge right before impact on the clip I saw on the Today Show. They appear to be stopping or stopped as I said which is why they are not as visible on the clips that just show the impact. The official on TV said several cars went down with the bridge. That's why I have no idea how they can list a death total, we don't know how many people were in those cars.

At 34 seconds you can see and hear about the cars on the bridge.

https://www.today.com/on-the-show

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Joakim3

It’s either Norfolk or NYC.

The container ships that enter Baltimore are to big to port in Delaware/Philly which creates a whole slew of issues.

So now instead of shipping goods to the door steps of a 10 million person region (DC-Baltimore CSA), you have to dock your shop +200 miles away and then truck/train any and every goods and any good currently in the port are effectively stranded for the next days-weeks.

It’s an nightmare logistics scenario for the entire NEC if there’s ever been one.

It would seem there should be a logistics work-around considering ports in Wilmington, Chester and Philadelphia currently receive some form of container shipments.