Baltimore Bridge Collapse

[merry]

Wow!

I've only gone with a Grauniad link because so many of the others are behind a paywall now

How Baltimore's Bridge collapsed, a visual guide

I've always been VERY NERVOUS on bridges, but, as Juliet pointed out, surely this is better for my nerves than the spontaneous collapse I always suspect is imminent. At least I can swivel my head round and round looking for wayward cargo ships in the offing.

[merry]

It's at least made a change in the news from Gaza and the royals but I shudder thinking of the trauma and the disruption.

A smaller death toll so far which is astonishing, considering how bad it could have been.

[Furby]

It does seem part of a wider pattern these days. Not seen a bridge done before but there are a lot of buses and lorries crashing under bridges and even motor cars crashing into houses like the one that broke panis internet and at the end of my road the other week which smattered their garden wall and my old neighbour in their new home a mile away got done in lockdown and the wall only slowed car down the window still got smashed.

Bridges and cars and boats and buses have been around for a hundred years with occasional accidents but seems to be happening everywhere these days wonder what's causing the increase.

I agree about news sites it's so annoying. I just don't read the news these days if asked for details never mind money and merry is right so many others its pretty much relying on headlines only these days. The bridge has been on tv news so I did see it. They must have had a webcam watching it happen so at least it's all recorded for investigations.

The people living there will be struggling. Bridges tend to be in areas where there is no other reasonable way round and it's miles out of way to get anywhere. So they are not dead so still lucky but will ruin lives long after news have gone away.

[OurCreature]

The people living there will be struggling.

Not only the people living there but in the hinterland of Baltimore port as well - all the industry etc that uses Baltimore to export and import goods and materials. One chap on a news programme said it would take months for things to get back to normal because the collapsed bridge and the stuck cargo ship have blocked most of the port.

[eccles]

There will be questions asked.
It lost power which resulted in the collision. Why wasn't such a large vessel piloted out of the port?
Obviously such a large ship takes a lot of stopping but why wasn't it able to drop anchor before the collision?
Was the bridge construction the right one for such a busy port?
Would a suspension bridge with a greater span be better?

[Patience]

@Furbs maybe it’s one of these things where the crashes aren’t happening more often, it’s just been reported more often. We see that at work, particularly with reporting of near misses, etc.

@Merry I’m not keen on Suspension Bridges. When the new bridge over the River Forth was built, I refused to travel over it until it was at least a year old and had seen in one winter and a few storms.

[eccles]

From Quora, not validated:

It appears that the captain notified the coast guard that the vessel was in distress in good time. There were two local harbour pilots on the bridge one on the helm and the ship dropped its starboard anchor before hitting the western support column after losing power and/or propulsion.

[merry]

t appears that the captain notified the coast guard that the vessel was in distress in good time. There were two local harbour pilots on the bridge one on the helm and the ship dropped its starboard anchor before hitting the western support column after losing power and/or propulsion.

They stopped traffic entering the bridge with seconds to spare! or the death toll would have been way, way higher. Well done all there!

@Merry I’m not keen on Suspension Bridges. When the new bridge over the River Forth was built, I refused to travel over it until it was at least a year old and had seen in one winter and a few storms.

When Juliet, Helen and I walked over the Clifton Suspension Bridge last year my knees were actually weak. I'd heard of this phenomenon but not experienced it before. I wasn't sure I'd be able to walk over!

[eccles]

When Juliet, Helen and I walked over the Clifton Suspension Bridge last year my knees were actually weak. I'd heard of this phenomenon but not experienced it before. I wasn't sure I'd be able to walk over!

You're not alone Merry. Many years ago I played host to an American guy who came over on a company visit, taking him to the local tourist spots. We parked up on the Clifton side and I took him to the Clifton Suspension Bridge but he refused to cross it. He liked the bridge but there was no way he was going to walk across it.