- On March 26, 2024, a cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, causing it to collapse. Six foreign workers from Mexico and Central America who were repairing potholes on the bridge were among the six construction workers who lost their lives. Because the bridge lacked the structural engineering redundancies seen in more recent spans, it was more susceptible to a catastrophic collapse.
- The incident could be the deadliest bridge collapse in US history since the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River due to a construction flaw in 2007, killing thirteen people. Because of its “fracture critical” classification, the federal government states that if one part of the bridge fails, the entire structure will collapse. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that there are over 16,800 of these bridges in the United States.
- On Friday, President Joe Biden will visit Baltimore. He has stated that the federal government should cover the expense of the bridge as well as the damage. Sixty million dollars in “quick release” emergency assistance funding were granted by the Transportation Department to help remove debris and start the reconstruction process. Congress would have to authorize financing in order to rebuild the bridge. Following the 2007 Minnesota bridge collapse, Congress provided $250 million.
- The economic research firm IMPLAN estimated that the cost of repairing the bridge would be $600 million at first. Rebuilding the bridge might end up costing at least $2 billion, federal officials said Maryland legislators, according to a Roll Call story citing a person involved with the talks. Analysts predicted that insurers would have to deal with claims worth billions of dollars; one estimate estimated the damage at much to $4 billion, giving the accident a record loss on shipping insurance.
- Depending on how much of the existing structure can be saved, rebuilding can take a while. The original bridge took five years to build, from 1972 to 1977. According to IMPLAN, Maryland would lose $28 million in revenue if the port were closed for only one month. In order to allow necessary vessels to bypass the stranded container vessel, authorities temporarily established a canal on the northeast side of the main shipping route. Another temporary channel is being worked on.
- The Baltimore Bridge, a 948-foot (289-meter) steel bridge that was transporting 21,000 autos per day or 11.3 million vehicles annually, crashed with the ship, the Dali, which was carrying 21 crew members and two pilots. When the ship attempted to leave the North Sea container facility in Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016, it struck a pier. The ship had “propulsion and auxiliary machinery” issues, according to a later examination conducted in San Antonio, Chile. The ship was owned by Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, a Singaporean company, and was managed by Synergy Marine Group.
- The 17th-largest port in the nation, Baltimore Harbor, saw a bridge collapse that resulted in traffic suspension and the suspension of 15,000 people’s jobs. There might be significant interruptions in the movement of automobiles, coal, and sugar, but it is likely possible to reallocate the flow of containers to Baltimore to larger ports. In 2023, the port will handle at least 750,000 cars, making it the busiest port in the United States for auto shipments. In terms of volume, it is also the biggest port in the United States for handling construction and farm equipment as well as agricultural goods like salt and sugar.
Source:
Reuters
