Bridge Collapses in Baltimore

[NWICY]

I hate being on bridges for no real rational reason.

Also, the ship just needed to avoid the pillar. How difficult can that really be?

It had lost propulsion from the reports I've heard. The ship radioed in that they had lost power and may hit the bridge. Have not heard what went wrong on the ship.
Tragic enough already glad it wasn't rush hour. There was also a road repair crew on the bridge pouring concrete.

 

[KidSilverhair]

Nobody was terribly concerned about the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis, either....until it fell into the river.

I wasn‘t serious. And I can’t use the jimlad for some reason (does it not play nice with Apple/Safari or something?).

 

[KidSilverhair]

The potential supply chain issue here by far outweighs any commuter issues in my mind.

Oh, geez, I didn’t even think about that. This means some issues for the port of Baltimore for a while, anyhow.

 

[CycloneErik]

It had lost propulsion from the reports I've heard. The ship radioed in that they had lost power and may hit the bridge. Have not heard what went wrong on the ship.
Tragic enough already glad it wasn't rush hour. There was also a road repair crew on the bridge pouring concrete.

That would make it a bit more difficult.

 

[jbhtexas]

The second article does a good job explaining the issues connected. We have one here in town that is especially bad that will be getting reworked here soon. These remedies arent a quick fix and obviously they are tackling them in order of immediate danger/importance. Hopefully with the newer contruction tech-methods, some of these 1940's era bridges will be redone to last longer and also make them more easily repairable moving forward.

Are there any this bad? The photos of the bridge support members at the end of this video are crazy...

 

[Cyclonepride]

It had lost propulsion from the reports I've heard. The ship radioed in that they had lost power and may hit the bridge. Have not heard what went wrong on the ship.
Tragic enough already glad it wasn't rush hour. There was also a road repair crew on the bridge pouring concrete.

Yeah, someone on Twitter slowed down the video, and you could see the lights go out on the ship, and then a generator kick in and black smoke (probably from the generator) and then the lights go back on and then off again right before they hit.

 

[bos]

Are there any this bad? The photos of the bridge support members at the end of this video are crazy...

Good god, I hope not.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Yeah, someone on Twitter slowed down the video, and you could see the lights go out on the ship, and then a generator kick in and black smoke (probably from the generator) and then the lights go back on and then off again right before they hit.

I guess it's not slowed down, but it does do a good job of pointing out the power loss points.

 

[SCNCY]

I thought we had it bad in Providence when the 195 west bound Washington bridge was abruptly closed in December due to structural issues. This has caused a lot of traffic issues and congestion of people trying to move east and west. They just recently announced that the bridge is unrepairable and a new one will need to be built, after spending 3 months analyzing if they could repair the current structure.

But for those who live south of Balitmore, this will cause a lot of traffic as people try to navigate north and south.

 

[Bret44]

My biggest fear is dying in the water. This just compounds my fears. Being on a bridge, ship hits pillar, bridge collapses, and you crash into the body of water below and probably drown. I even think about drowning going over the mile long bridge at Saylorville.

I always roll my window down going over that bridge, and the one at Red Rock.

 

[ClonesFTW]

How many of those are on dead end roads connecting farmers to their fields?

Nearly all of them are rural/local, completely misleading statement. That's why rural states lead these deficiency rankings, they aren't being used by the general public.

 

[jcf817]

I don’t think that is true. I believe it was rated structurally deficient.

True, but the reason for that rating isn't what caused the collapse. They found out it was the gusset plates after the fact, and the weakness of the gusset places was exacerbated by the extra weight of the equipment being used to repair its structural deficiency. If they were concerned it was in imminent danger of failure, they would have done everything differently.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Nearly all of them are rural/local, completely misleading statement. That's why rural states lead these deficiency rankings, they aren't being used by the general public.

Yeah, I have an uncle who was a district manager for the Iowa DOT, and those stories always drove him nuts for that exact reason.

 

[TrailCy]

Yeah, I have an uncle who was a district manager for the Iowa DOT, and those stories always drove him nuts for that exact reason.

So they aren't deficient?

 

[pulse]

So they aren't deficient?

Read the kcrg article.

 

[BCClone]

I always roll my window down going over that bridge, and the one at Red Rock.

If that one concerns you, don't ever drive to Key West then. The worst is when you see chunks missing from the old road next to it. Although its been over 25 years since I've been on it so it may have changed.

 

[CRcyclone6]

Lake Pontchartrain Bridge always made me a little nervous. Only about 15ft above the water, but it's 24 miles long. I'm sure plenty of hungry gators and bull sharks lurking.

 

[ISUTex]

Here in Savannah it's mandatory that cargo ships heave an escort team of tugs accompany them the length of the river and one of the largest reasons is to minimize issues from a loss of power.

It's mind blowing to me that other ports don't follow the same protocol. Granted, the Baltimore port looks to be quite a bit wider and easier to navigate (assuming the channel is also wider, anyway) but I would have expected ships would at least be accompanied past vulnerable man-made structures like the bridge.

That was my question. Where were the tug boats?

 

[AgronAlum]

I wonder how well the other ports in the NE are going to be able to handle the traffic that would otherwise go into Baltimore. The Port of Baltimore is not small.

 

[JayV]

Lake Pontchartrain Bridge always made me a little nervous. Only about 15ft above the water, but it's 24 miles long. I'm sure plenty of hungry gators and bull sharks lurking.

Only been across that one once. It's a weird feeling.