Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapses after ship struck it

[Totem Polar]

At a news conference in MD, one official said that the ship sent a mayday for loss of power and control. DOT workers who were working on the bridge shut down access from at least one end after the mayday, helping limit traffic and reducing the death toll. If accurate, that's an amazingly fast reflex time between the ship calling mayday and word getting to the hard hats with boots on the pavement.

If so, this alone would go a ways toward renewing my faith in human organizations. Sounds like stellar, and beyond valuable work going on to mitigate how bad this was.

[Stephanie B]

What COULD a warship do? Surely it has independent power to multiple screws.

Most do, now, but the DE/FF/FFGs only had one screw. If the plant shit the bed, it was going to be a bad day, especially in restricted waters.

[Joe in PNG]

Shades of the 1980 Tampa Bay bridge. They put in a whole lotta stuff around the new one to keep this from happening again.

[TC215]

If so, this alone would go a ways toward renewing my faith in human organizations. Sounds like stellar, and beyond valuable work going on to mitigate how bad this was.

You can play the audio of scanner traffic on the CNN homepage. It’s embedded there and I’m not able to link to it. Law enforcement was able to get traffic stopped from at least one direction. Sounds like they were trying to get word to the construction crew just before the bridge was hit.

Edit: You can listen to it here:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-...idge/103637870

[Toonces]

And I'm not surprised at the speed of the collapse. Bridges like that are big physics equations: you pull a string and everything reacts immediately. Perhaps someone with a civil engineering background can comment.

I don't have that Civil Engineering background, but I asked a buddy who has a Master's in Civil Engineering. He's a "structural" engineer who used to design sports arenas and large concrete buildings, and is now the head bridge inspector for a good portion of a Midwestern state. His take is @Chance is absolutely correct. My buddy said in part of his text "...that style of bridge once you lose a small part it all comes down."

What a kick in the ass...going about your normal life and a huge bridge gets hit by a huge ship and collapses and kills you. When your number's up...your number's up. My condolences to the victim's families.

I would bet the replacement bridge isn't the same style as the old one. I hope the State and Federal governments can get their shit together and get the replacement build ASAP. Meaning 2-3 years, not a decade. When the Tower Bridge in Green Bay developed a sag due to some rusty columns giving out, they evaluated and fixed in two months, which was lightning quick. Speed is relative, but possible.

Semi-rant mode on: There's no mystery why this bridge is in the water, there doesn't need to be a lengthy investigation into the collapse. Start the salvage operation as soon as all the victims are recovered and copy an existing bridge that is more tolerant of damage, or see which major engineering firms have a design on the books that can be adapted. They should be starting the ordering process in a few weeks, not in years after all the architects bicker over who's design is more spiritually uplifting.

[Stephanie B]

After the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed, DOT and PennDOT got a new one up in 11 months. They can move fast when they want to (and the current incumbent is an infrastructure guy). I’ll bet a preliminary design will be on people’s desks by the end of the week.

It might not be pretty, but it’ll be strong, functional and capable of a fast buildout.

[ccmdfd]

Attorney for the pilot involved told CNN that the pilot ordered the anchor(s) dropped and had the helm hard over as soon as the ship lost power.

[Caballoflaco]

[Borderland]

Some contractor will get rich if his bid is accepted for a new bridge. Lots of overtime for employees. They can build bridges pretty fast if the money is right. It will be interesting to see if it's another truss bridge. Not a fault of the design itself, but the lack of walls to protect the piers.

I find that incredible for a bridge with such long spans, with that much ship traffic that carried that much vehicle traffic.

[Jim Watson]

Daytime view from passing plane.