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The video footage of the collapse of the Francis Scott Bridge was shocking. At approximately 1:30 a.m. on March 26, when a container ship collided with it, the central section of the 1.6-mile (2.6 km) structure collapsed into the Patapsco River below, throwing people and vehicles into the water. At that time the workers repairing the potholes were on the bridge. Underwater drones, sonar and infrared equipment show several vehicles submerged in the river. “You never thought you’d see the Key Bridge collapse like this,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told reporters. “It looked like something out of an action movie.”
The governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency. As of Tuesday evening, divers were searching for six people. Beyond the human toll, immediate questions concerned the causes and consequences of the disaster – one of the most significant in the US in decades, according to Jerry Hajjar, president of the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The FBI has said that terrorism is unlikely to be behind this.
The 300-metre-long ship, Dali, was sailing from the port of Baltimore to Colombo in Sri Lanka when it “lost propulsion”, according to an unclassified cyber security and infrastructure security agency report. The crew reportedly informed officials that there was a possibility of hitting the A bridge. Eyewitnesses say that the ship’s lights were flickering just before the collision. Local people heard a loud rumbling like thunder at midnight. “The house started shaking,” says Cyrus Gilbert, a resident of Locust Point, Maryland. Directly across the harbor.
The bridge could have been structurally stronger. An ASCE report in 2020 gave Maryland a B for its bridges and a B- for its ports. “Bridges are not designed to withstand lateral loads from ships on their columns,” said Masoud Hayatdavoodi, an expert in civil engineering and naval architecture. School of Science and Engineering, University of Dundee. “There is no question that the bridge would collapse due to the impact on the columns.”
President Joe Biden has promised to foot the bill for rebuilding the bridge as soon as possible. But the economic impact is already being felt on the city. The port is closed to traffic until further notice, causing waves outside the port. The port supports more than 15,000 direct jobs, and about 140,000 jobs are linked to it in some way or the other. This includes everything from Amazon drivers to local dry-cleaners. The port has a huge impact not only in Baltimore, but also in the state of Maryland. Darius Irani of the Institute for Regional Economic Studies at Towson University in Maryland says port closures alone would likely result in a loss of economic activity worth about $50 million per day.
During cleaning, port activity may slow or stop. This port is an important link in America’s supply chain. More than 50 ocean carriers make approximately 1,800 annual visits. This is especially important in the automotive world. Its private and public terminals handled approximately 850,000 cars and light trucks in 2023, the most of any US port. In 2023 the port ranked first in the country in handling agricultural and construction machinery as well as imported sugar and gypsum, and second for coal exports.
If another port experiences disruption for any reason (for example, due to weather, labor disputes, or cyberattacks), the impact on the U.S. economy could be severe. However, the national impact is likely to be limited for now. Other ports, such as New York-New Jersey and Virginia, should be able to make up the shortfall. Mark Zandi, chief economist at ratings agency Moody’s, says the national economy will be fine, but Baltimore will feel the pain in its collective wallet. Passengers and lorry drivers will also face problems. Last year, 34,000 commercial and passenger vehicles passed through the bridge daily, accounting for about 15% of the area’s traffic.
Baltimore Harbor has long been a symbol of America’s resiliency. During the War of 1812 against the British, the Americans successfully defended Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, an event immortalized by Francis Scott Key in his 19th-century poem, which became America’s national anthem. This tragedy will give the city and port time to implement upgrades that would be difficult for them if the port were to become active. After understanding the full scope of the disaster and properly mourning the lives lost, Baltimore can emerge with a better bridge and port.
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