Baltimore Bridge

[Ausmumof3]

Hope no boardies are involved or affected.

 

[Innisfree]

Saw this in the news a little while ago. It’s terrible.

[HomeAgain]

It is a horrifying video.  My heart goes out to the community.

[Pawz4me]

It is terrible. I can't imagine at this point that they'll find any more survivors. 

[hjffkj]

Horrifying. I always hated driving on that bridge. 

[Ginevra]

Such devastating news. I received an alert from my work (without details) early this morning. At that point I didn’t know the reason but expected it must be a serious situation since the alert just said that route was inaccessible until further notice. Hope and pray the number of fatalities and injuries is low. Thankful that it was such an early hour and not rush hour when there may have been many more cars on the bridge. 

[QueenCat]

I just finished reading the news about it. Absolutely devastating.

[Catwoman]

I have been following this on the news, and it’s awful. When I watched the video, it was so horrifying that it almost didn’t seem real; it was like something out of a movie or something. It was so surreal, especially because I have traveled on that bridge many times. I can’t even imagine what this must be like for the people of Maryland. 😞 

[Spryte]

No words. Just thankful that it was not rush hour, and heartbroken that it happened at all.

[Farrar]

I think anyone who lives in the region hasn't driven over it. It's not quite as major as the Bay Bridge or the Tunnel, but it's a major thoroughfare. I don't even live in Maryland and have been over it a bunch of times. I'm just horrified.

Edited March 26 by Farrar

[Faith-manor]

The first thing I did when I got up this morning and saw the news was to call my dear nephew and niece in law. They live in Baltimore and have had various commute routes that cross that bridge.

They were busy and not near their phones for about 30 minutes, so my heart was in my throat for a while. We are very, very close with them. Thankfully, they haven't had to use the bridge recently, and did call back to let me know they are okay. 

Much love to the people of Baltimore! I am sure that had the search continues, there will be more injuries and fatalities found, and from an economic perspective, the port will be closed causing a loss of 1.1 million in taxes per day. That is a devastating loss on top of the loss of life, the trauma of all those nearby, the witnesses, the rescuers and searchers, and so many other consequences. 

[mommyoffive]

I just woke up to this.  My hearts and prayers and for any victims and their families. 

[chiguirre]

What a nightmare for the ship's master and the Baltimore pilots. They lost power at the worst possible moment and just couldn't stop in time. They dropped at least one anchor, tried to back up when the power blinked back on and just couldn't regain rudder control. Here's a video that explains the accident in detail hosted by an experienced merchant mariner:

 

[Pawz4me]

They were very lucky that the ship issued a mayday call in time to stop traffic. Even at that time of the morning I'm sure there's plenty of it. This could have been so much worse.

[catz]

Awful and it flashes me back to the major bridge collapse in Minneapolis a number of years ago now that was within a couple miles of us.  Hoping the timing keeps the tragedy numbers very tiny.  Sending hugs to our Baltimore boardies.

Edited March 26 by catz

[freesia]

I’m having a hard time with this one—I keep tearing up. I grew up in the area (in DC) and have driven through Baltimore countless times. When I was a child and we went over bridges, I’d always be making a plan for how to escape the car if the bridge collapsed. It’s literally a nightmare come true for me. Hugs to all the Baltimore folks. 

[Drama Llama]

The mayday call led to them closing the bridge to traffic but 8 members of the construction crew that was on the bridge fell and only 2 have been rescued.  
 

5 vehicles are under water, but hopefully those were construction related and don’t have additional people in them.  
 

It could be worse but still so terrible.  

[TexasProud]

Uggh.  Add this to the list of things I wouldn't have heard of it were not for this board....  So sad...

[pinball]

Catastrophic collapses are terrifying.

Those construction workers were doing dangerous work…but the danger that killed them was probably one that was pretty far down on their list.

I hope they didn’t suffer.

[KungFuPanda]

I wish I hadn’t watched the video. It looks sped up to me but it really happened so fast. I was out of town til this morning so I don’t know how far out the crash was heard.  Friends who live closer to Baltimore report hearing it and everyone is checking in. We tend to use it in the summer to get to the drive in theatre. 

DH and I were down in Chincoteague for a few days. Coming home, the signs on 97 just say “Key Bridge Closed.” It was weird to feel compelled to check for boat traffic while driving the Bay Bridge. It was fine, but I have bridge-phobic friends that I have absolutely talked across a bridge or driven it for them. I imagine they’ll struggle even more now. It’s a doozy of a phobia.

This is a horrific disaster. We don’t know who was lost. The clean up and rebuild is too big to think about and I don’t know how long the port will close or what the ripple effects of that will be. We’re feeling stunned 

Edited March 26 by KungFuPanda

[LauraClark]

2 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

They were very lucky that the ship issued a mayday call in time to stop traffic. Even at that time of the morning I'm sure there's plenty of it. This could have been so much worse.

I hadn't heard that either-I'm so glad they had time! 

[Ausmumof3]

3 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

They were very lucky that the ship issued a mayday call in time to stop traffic. Even at that time of the morning I'm sure there's plenty of it. This could have been so much worse.

I wasn’t aware of this, that is excellent.

[Ausmumof3]

1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:

I wish I hadn’t watched the video. It looks sped up to me but it really happened so fast. I was out of town til this morning so I don’t know how far out the crash was heard.  Friends who live closer to Baltimore report hearing it and everyone is checking in. We tend to use it in the summer to get to the drive in theatre. 

DH and I were down in Chincoteague for a few days. Coming home, the signs on 97 just say “Key Bridge Closed.” It was weird to feel compelled to check for boat traffic while driving the Bay Bridge. It was fine, but I have bridge-phobic friends that I have absolutely talked across a bridge or driven it for them. I imagine they’ll struggle even more now. It’s a doozy of a phobia.

This is a horrific disaster. We don’t know who was lost. The clean up and rebuild is too big to think about and I don’t know how long the port will close or what the ripple effects of that will be. We’re feeling stunned 

I am a little bridge phobic, I think that’s partly why it struck a cord. Definitely always thinking about an exit strategy when going on to a bridge…

[Scarlett]

A bridge over the AR river here in OK collapsed when a boat hit it. I think it has been 20 years now. 

[HomeAgain]

1 hour ago, KungFuPanda said:

I wish I hadn’t watched the video.

Same. It was nauseating having the news on this morning because it was replayed every 5 minutes.  Then every other person on Facebook linked it.  I don't want to hide my head in the sand, but I really can't take the constant coverage and repetition of death.  Everyone there, they were somebody's person.

[El...]

I've read a bit, a tiny bit, about harbor pilots. They use professional pilots for ships going through canals, too. It makes a lot of sense to allow expertise in a harbor or route. This could have been So Much Worse. It's still really bad, and heartbreaking for the families of the lost people. 

But yeah. I've always been apprehensive going over bridges, and this sure unlocks a new level of fear!

[gardenmom5]

7 hours ago, Ginevra said:

Such devastating news. I received an alert from my work (without details) early this morning. At that point I didn’t know the reason but expected it must be a serious situation since the alert just said that route was inaccessible until further notice. Hope and pray the number of fatalities and injuries is low. Thankful that it was such an early hour and not rush hour when there may have been many more cars on the bridge. 

There were construction workers on the bridge. I'm sorry it's not looking good for them.

 

6 minutes ago, El... said:

I've read a bit, a tiny bit, about harbor pilots. They use professional pilots for ships going through canals, too. It makes a lot of sense to allow expertise in a harbor or route. This could have been So Much Worse. It's still really bad, and heartbreaking for the families of the lost people. 

But yeah. I've always been apprehensive going over bridges, and this sure unlocks a new level of fear!

I have that paranoia every time I'm stopped under a freeway overpass.   We can get very large earthquakes here (we're overdue for one), and I keep seeing the collapsed/pancaked viaduct in the Bay Area.

[freesia]

33 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

There were construction workers on the bridge. I'm sorry it's not looking good for them.

 

I have that paranoia every time I'm stopped under a freeway overpass.   We can get very large earthquakes here (we're overdue for one), and I keep seeing the collapsed/pancaked viaduct in the Bay Area.

Yes, me, too. I wish I hadn’t watched the coverage from that earthquake. 30 years later I am still effected. 

[KSera]

6 hours ago, freesia said:

I’m having a hard time with this one—I keep tearing up. I grew up in the area (in DC) and have driven through Baltimore countless times. When I was a child and we went over bridges, I’d always be making a plan for how to escape the car if the bridge collapsed. It’s literally a nightmare come true for me. Hugs to all the Baltimore folks. 

I’m sorry. I’ve so far managed to not see any video of it and am going to attempt to keep it that way. I’ve done the same thing with trying to figure out a bridge collapse escape plan for everyone ever since I had kids. For some reason I never worried or thought about it once before then (I’ve read this is actually common). It became more stressful to think through once I had a second, and at three kids I had to just try to put it out of my mind (though not always successful and I’ve gone through the mental scenario with as many as four kids before—once I come up with a solution, my brain can let it go. Annoying habit.) So I totally get the nightmare come true feeling. It’s hard to reconcile when an “irrational fear” actually happens to some people 😞 .

[Arcadia]

3 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

There were construction workers on the bridge. I'm sorry it's not looking good for them.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse-live-updates-rcna145049
“Six people who were plunged into the river when it collapsed are presumed dead. Two people were rescued early in the day. Authorities believe all eight people were part of the construction crew. 

By evening, the Coast Guard said the mission had transitioned from search and rescue to recovery. Authorities believe all eight people were part of the construction crew.”

[Ginevra]

1 minute ago, Arcadia said:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse-live-updates-rcna145049
“Six people who were plunged into the river when it collapsed are presumed dead. Two people were rescued early in the day. Authorities believe all eight people were part of the construction crew. 

By evening, the Coast Guard said the mission had transitioned from search and rescue to recovery. Authorities believe all eight people were part of the construction crew.”

Of course, it is all terribly sad, but something about these construction crew members really punches me in the gut. They work on their jobs at night because it’s such an important thoroughfare, they cannot do the jobs typically during the day and tie up traffic. They were just doing their jobs, at a thankless hour. I hope we get to learn their identities and a little bit about who each was. 

[Arcadia]

13 minutes ago, Ginevra said:

I hope we get to learn their identities and a little bit about who each was

What is currently known according to news

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/baltimore/news/who-is-missing-in-baltimores-francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse-what-we-know-about-those-unaccounted-for/

“The six men were working for Brawner Builders, filling potholes on the center span of the bridge, at the time of the collapse.

The men, who are now presumed dead, are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, and were living in Dundalk and Highlandtown, according to our media partners at The Baltimore Banner. The Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed two of the men were from Guatemala, according to a Tuesday evening news release.

The Banner reports the men are in their 30s and 40s and have spouses and children. 

"They are all hard-working, humble men," the Banner was told by an employee at the company.”

[maize]

I hope there are funds being set up to take care of these men's families. I doubt most if any had life insurance.

[Arcadia]

28 minutes ago, maize said:

I hope there are funds being set up to take care of these men's families. I doubt most if any had life insurance.

I am assuming the construction company would have workers' compensation insurance for all their employees. 

[Ausmumof3]

2 hours ago, Arcadia said:

I am assuming the construction company would have workers' compensation insurance for all their employees. 

I wonder who ultimately pays in that scenario? Does it come back to the boat owner?

[Arcadia]

21 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I wonder who ultimately pays in that scenario? Does it come back to the boat owner?

The boat owner should also have some kind of commercial vessel insurance. My guess is that the at fault party pays which means the maintenance company and/or the manufacturer. During my civil engineering internship, an oil company bought a cruise liner type ship that turns out to be not seaworthy. The oil company sued the seller for breach of contract. My internship mentors had to inspect the ship and appear in court.  So in this case, investigation would be quite thorough because of the responsibility of paying for all the damages.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2024/03/26/baltimore-bridge-collapse-ship-dali/73105394007/

”The 9-year-old container ship had passed previous inspections during its time at sea, but during one such inspection in June at the Port of San Antonio in Chile, officials discovered a deficiency with its "propulsion and auxiliary machinery (gauges, thermometers, etc)," according to the Tokyo MOU, an intergovernmental maritime authority in the Asia-Pacific region.

The report provided no other information about the deficiency except to note that it was not serious enough to remove the ship from service.”

[TravelingChris]

6 hours ago, Arcadia said:

The boat owner should also have some kind of commercial vessel insurance. My guess is that the at fault party pays which means the maintenance company and/or the manufacturer. During my civil engineering internship, an oil company bought a cruise liner type ship that turns out to be not seaworthy. The oil company sued the seller for breach of contract. My internship mentors had to inspect the ship and appear in court.  So in this case, investigation would be quite thorough because of the responsibility of paying for all the damages.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2024/03/26/baltimore-bridge-collapse-ship-dali/73105394007/

”The 9-year-old container ship had passed previous inspections during its time at sea, but during one such inspection in June at the Port of San Antonio in Chile, officials discovered a deficiency with its "propulsion and auxiliary machinery (gauges, thermometers, etc)," according to the Tokyo MOU, an intergovernmental maritime authority in the Asia-Pacific region.

The report provided no other information about the deficiency except to note that it was not serious enough to remove the ship from service.”

Dh wanted to watch coverage of this but as I was busy w other urgent matters. I only heard in passing that the ship apparently had an issue also in Antwerp. Belgium but don't know how recently.

 

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, TravelingChris said:

Dh wanted to watch coverage of this but as I was busy w other urgent matters. I only heard in passing that the ship apparently had an issue also in Antwerp. Belgium but don't know how recently.

 

The issue with its propulsion and auxiliary machinery (gauges, thermometers, etc) discovered at Chile’s port is more likely to have direct bearing on yesterday’s tragedy though.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2024/03/26/baltimore-bridge-collapse-ship-dali/73105394007/

”The ship in Tuesday's crash, Dali, was involved in at least one prior accident when it collided with a shipping pier in Belgium.

That 2016 incident occurred as the Dali was leaving port in Antwerp and struck a loading pier made of stone, causing damage to the ship’s stern, according to VesselFinder.com, a site that tracks ships across the world. An investigation determined a mistake made by the ship’s master and pilot was to blame.”

[KungFuPanda]

It just makes me sick because if the system had blinked out a few minutes later  it would have been past the bridge and in the bay where there’s more room to maneuver. 
 

I just did an errand in Baltimore and the beltway is shut down all the way back to 95. You can’t use that exit at all and have to detour to get anywhere east of I95. I don’t know how far North they have things blocked. I can’t imagine Shay shut down the WHOLE beltway.

 I just needed to get to the edge of the city.  I went to a local foam shop and the background shop talk was all about the bridge. The community is understandably shaken. They mostly discussed the workers and where they’re from, the footage from the collapse, some musing about how long the rebuild could take, and a little political commentary.  

 

[Ginevra]

4 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

It just makes me sick because if the system had blinked out a few minutes later  it would have been past the bridge and in the bay where there’s more room to maneuver. 
 

I just did an errand in Baltimore and the beltway is shut down all the way back to 95. You can’t use that exit at all and have to detour to get anywhere east of I95. I don’t know how far North they have things blocked. I can’t imagine Shay shut down the WHOLE beltway.

 I just needed to get to the edge of the city.  I went to a local foam shop and the background shop talk was all about the bridge. The community is understandably shaken. They mostly discussed the workers and where they’re from, the footage from the collapse, some musing about how long the rebuild could take, and a little political commentary.  

 

I know many people who are trying to figure out alternate routes to work or other places they often go. My coworker crosses it every week to see her parents; she has to go via the tunnel now. 

[KungFuPanda]

Either I didn’t notice it this morning and just thought the beltway was closed off from 95 OR they opened it for local traffic sometime midday. You could take 695 this evening. My gps tried to route me that way and I didn’t believe it so I stayed on 95. Traffic was super congested but mostly inching along. Leaving the city was easier than getting into it around 5:30 pm. 

[Arcadia]

NTSB investigation page https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Pages/DCA24MM031.aspx

"This accident was classified by the US Coast Guard as a major marine casualty. NTSB will lead the investigation, and the Office of Marine Safety will investigate and establish the probable cause."

https://www.newsweek.com/officials-identify-victims-recovered-baltimore-bridge-collapse-1884344

"Maryland State Police (MSP) said at a press briefing Wednesday evening that recovery crews found Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, and Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk, Maryland, shortly before 10 a.m. ET Wednesday.

... Recovery efforts continue for the four construction workers still missing and are presumed dead, the U.S. Coast Guard has said. The victims are from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, and notifications to family members living outside the U.S. are being handled by the FBI, officials said on Wednesday."

[Ausmumof3]

https://gcaptain.com/london-insurers-face-billions-in-baltimore-bridge-claims/
 

Looks like there’s some answers to my questions about liability insurance etc here. Not that money is the thing, while they are still searching for people but I really hope as a minimum it helps the families of the construction workers.

[KidsHappen]

I watched the video and I was absolutely shocked at how fast the whole thing came down. My only prior experience with a bridge collapse was the Sunshine Skyway in 1980. My father was in the Coast Guard at the time and we were stationed in Saint Petersburg. He was part of the rescue efforts and the stories he had to tell were not pleasant. We lived just a few blocks from a beach where we could see the bridge so I was able to see the aftermath for awhile after it happened. The Sunshine Skyway was a double bridge with two lanes going in each directions. In that accident, when the ship hit the bridge we only lost a partial span on one of the two spans. In describing it I would say that the ship bumped into the pylon and knocked out a portion of one span. So when watching the footage of Baltimore I was not expecting the entire bridge to fall down like that and especially so quickly. Like I said I was shocked but it still didn't have the emotional impact that the Skyway did. When I listened to the mayday again (especially knowing what happened) it brought me to tears. I have been back to the Skyway since they rebuilt and they left both ends of the span that fell and turned them into fishing piers which is kind of weird to see.

[Scarlett]

2 hours ago, KidsHappen said:

I watched the video and I was absolutely shocked at how fast the whole thing came down. My only prior experience with a bridge collapse was the Sunshine Skyway in 1980. My father was in the Coast Guard at the time and we were stationed in Saint Petersburg. He was part of the rescue efforts and the stories he had to tell were not pleasant. We lived just a few blocks from a beach where we could see the bridge so I was able to see the aftermath for awhile after it happened. The Sunshine Skyway was a double bridge with two lanes going in each directions. In that accident, when the ship hit the bridge we only lost a partial span on one of the two spans. In describing it I would say that the ship bumped into the pylon and knocked out a portion of one span. So when watching the footage of Baltimore I was not expecting the entire bridge to fall down like that and especially so quickly. Like I said I was shocked but it still didn't have the emotional impact that the Skyway did. When I listened to the mayday again (especially knowing what happened) it brought me to tears. I have been back to the Skyway since they rebuilt and they left both ends of the span that fell and turned them into fishing piers which is kind of weird to see.

I thought it all came down too but this shows that only a section did.  https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/28/us/visuals-maps-key-bridge-ship-collapse-dg/index.html

[KidsHappen]

3 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

I thought it all came down too but this shows that only a section did.  https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/28/us/visuals-maps-key-bridge-ship-collapse-dg/index.html

Well, I am glad to hear that but still looked awfully dramatic. 

[Scarlett]

1 minute ago, KidsHappen said:

Well, I am glad to hear that but still looked awfully dramatic. 

I agree.  I argued with Dh because I thought it all came down from watching the video. 

[Arcadia]

4 hours ago, KidsHappen said:

So when watching the footage of Baltimore I was not expecting the entire bridge to fall down like that and especially so quickly.

The container ship hit a supporting pillar and the spans supported by that pillar fell. If you have an iPhone/iPad there is a free game app called Bridge Constructor Free that my kids used to play. It shows simulation of truss bridge failing. The Baltimore bridge is a truss bridge structure.

This article explains the why it collapse that way and the cost and aesthetic considerations of building the bridge at the time it was build.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse-engineering/ 

 

[Lady Florida.]

4 hours ago, KidsHappen said:

I watched the video and I was absolutely shocked at how fast the whole thing came down. My only prior experience with a bridge collapse was the Sunshine Skyway in 1980. My father was in the Coast Guard at the time and we were stationed in Saint Petersburg. He was part of the rescue efforts and the stories he had to tell were not pleasant. We lived just a few blocks from a beach where we could see the bridge so I was able to see the aftermath for awhile after it happened. The Sunshine Skyway was a double bridge with two lanes going in each directions. In that accident, when the ship hit the bridge we only lost a partial span on one of the two spans. In describing it I would say that the ship bumped into the pylon and knocked out a portion of one span. So when watching the footage of Baltimore I was not expecting the entire bridge to fall down like that and especially so quickly. Like I said I was shocked but it still didn't have the emotional impact that the Skyway did. When I listened to the mayday again (especially knowing what happened) it brought me to tears. I have been back to the Skyway since they rebuilt and they left both ends of the span that fell and turned them into fishing piers which is kind of weird to see.

That's the bridge accident that I had in mind for reference. They're very different types of bridges but my first thought went to the Sunshine Skyway bridge accident. 

[KungFuPanda]

That bridge is over a mile long. It would be hard to get back far enough to photograph the whole thing. I get why the video clips only show the collapsed part and why people think it’s the whole bridge, but there’s a lot more to that bridge.