Mayor says rescue efforts are under way after vessel crashed into Francis Scott Key Bridge, sending vehicles into water

A portion of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore has collapsed after a large boat collided with it early on Tuesday morning, sending multiple vehicles into the water.

At about 1.30am, a vessel crashed into the bridge, catching fire before sinking and causing multiple vehicles to fall into the water below, according to a video posted on X.

“All lanes closed both directions for incident on I-695 Key Bridge. Traffic is being detoured,” the Maryland Transportation Authority posted on X.

Matthew West, a petty officer first class for the coastguard in Baltimore, told the New York Times that the coastguard received a report of an impact at 1.27am ET. West said the Dali, a 948ft (29 metres) Singapore-flagged cargo ship, had hit the bridge, which is part of Interstate 695.

  • drphungky@lemmy.worldEnglish
    71·
    9 months ago

    Kinda crazy how those same construction and civil engineers are going to be investigating if the normal means of protection for this very foreseeable event was done correctly, because we design things to avoid these head on collisions:

    https://wjla.com/features/i-team/questions-investigators-will-be-asking-about-francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse-baltimore-container-ship-collision-port-engineering-economy-shipping-hub

    Also, not for nothing but even if they find out the dolphins in place were sufficient based on prior standards…this event will likely update the standards, same as the sun bridge in the 80s. Regulations and best practices are written in blood.

    • AlexWIWA@lemmy.mlEnglish
      3·
      9 months ago

      People always forget that deflection exists. I don’t know why that guy is hung up on stopping the ship instead of just nudging it forcefully. If we can figure out a way to deflect explosions and sabot rounds, we can deflect a ship.

      • drphungky@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        9 months ago

        Yeah also just the basic concept of sacrificial parts and things designed to wear. The derailleur hanger on your bike, crumple zones in cars, plastic gears in your KitchenAid mixer - lots of engineering practices are designed around shunting failure to a particular piece or in a particular way, to avoid otherwise catastrophic or very expensive damage.

    • Telodzrum@lemmy.world
      15·
      9 months ago

      Oh my god! No way! They’re going to investigate and learn from a rare event! That’s shocking!

      We study things all the time. Your extrapolation that an investigation means something was preventable is evidence that your higher brain function has been damaged.

      • drphungky@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        9 months ago

        You: "There is not a structure capable of being created by man which could sustain that amount of force, head on, and retain its structural integrity.

        Actual engineers in the linked article: literally describe how to build secondary structures to deal with giant ships and prevent head on collisions on bridges.

      • drphungky@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        9 months ago

        I know you stopped responding but I’m piling on because I’m apparently in an impish mood:

        Sherif El-Tawil, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at University of Michigan with expertise in bridges, said if the Key Bridge had been built after those updated standards from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials were put in place, the span could still be standing.

        “I believe it would have survived,” El-Tawil said.

        From: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/03/26/how-key-bridge-collapsed-baltimore/