Baltimore Bridge Collapse

[Vash01]

The workers killed were migrants? Migrants build this country and they are often demonized by certain folk. God bless them and their families.

Sadly they came from Mexico, Guatemala, and one other Latino country to find a better life. So sad this happened to them! I hope their families will be take care of financially.

I see construction workers do dangerous work all the time. A few have even been killed while at work by reckless drivers. Some work to build multistory buildings and some to lean the windows on those buildings. I feel grateful to those workers, regardless of where they came from. I am sure some came from other countries.

 

[MacMadame]

I'm not understanding why they couldn't have been warned. I guess there is no intercom type of system? I gather the bridge is very very long so someone wouldn't have had time to drive out and get them?

 

[Karen-W]

Sadly they came from Mexico, Guatemala, and one other Latino country to find a better life. So sad this happened to them! I hope their families will be take care of financially.

I see construction workers do dangerous work all the time. A few have even been killed while at work by reckless drivers. Some work to build multistory buildings and some to lean the windows on those buildings. I feel grateful to those workers, regardless of where they came from. I am sure some came from other countries.

I would hope their families are supported and taken care of financially regardless of their country of origin (provided they were here legally and I have no reason to think that someone working for the bridge authority didn't have a green card and right to work here).

Construction and road maintenance is difficult, dangerous work even with the safety measures in place nowadays.

 

[Karen-W]

I'm not understanding why they couldn't have been warned. I guess there is no intercom type of system? I gather the bridge is very very long so someone wouldn't have had time to drive out and get them?

Even if they were warned, would there have been time to have scrambled into the work truck that brought them out to the middle of the bridge and then get to a safe point on the bridge or off of it entirely?

 

[MacMadame]

Even if they were warned, would there have been time to have scrambled into the work truck that brought them out to the middle of the bridge and then get to a safe point on the bridge or off of it entirely?

I don't know. I am not familiar with this bridge so I am trying to figure it out. I feel so bad for them.

Oh, cell phones... Did they call the shift supervisor to tell them to get the hell out of there? The image of people working on a bridge and suddenly having it collapse under them with no warning just horrifies me.

 

[Karen-W]

I don't know. I am not familiar with this bridge so I am trying to figure it out. I feel so bad for them.

Oh, cell phones... Did they call the shift supervisor to tell them to get the hell out of there? The image of people working on a bridge and suddenly having it collapse under them with no warning just horrifies me.

Yeah, it makes me shudder just thinking about it. I'm not a fan of long bridges or ones that are very high above the water so I could never be a bridge worker.

 

[Cachoo]

Even if they were warned, would there have been time to have scrambled into the work truck that brought them out to the middle of the bridge and then get to a safe point on the bridge or off of it entirely?

By the time the ship lost power/lights it was too close (I think.). Even if they had a loud alarm I don’t know if there was enough time to exit. I know someone was talking about getting to a truck to pick them up. Then someone dispatched the collapse.

 

[MacMadame]

I know someone was talking about getting to a truck to pick them up.

I'm glad they tried.

 

[Aceon6]

By the time the ship lost power/lights it was too close (I think.). Even if they had a loud alarm I don’t know if there was enough time to exit. I know someone was talking about getting to a truck to pick them up. Then someone dispatched the collapse.

The rescue vehicle only made it as far as the end of the concrete section and the workers were at least a quarter mile from there, maybe farther. The only thing that might have helped is if they were strapped in, but as they were in the center of the road, there was no requirement for bridge gear.

Regarding hazmat and large trucks, every route has a plan B and usually requires that they have smaller capacity and are limited to specific lanes.

 

[Spikefan]

The image of people working on a bridge and suddenly having it collapse under them with no warning just horrifies me.

I cannot watch the replay of it anymore. You see the flashing lights and know that is where humans are working and then horror. I hope their families can find some peace.

 

[Debbie S]

From today's press conf: Divers recovered 2 bodies inside a pickup truck in the water. Work is now a salvage effort, they do not think they will recover additional bodies, they believe they may be within the concrete structures in the water.

Priority is to clear debris so the port can be reopened to vessels (it's currently open to trucks).

Federal funds will pay for the bridge reconstruction. No timeline on start or completion (it's actually only the middle portion of the bridge that is missing...that may make it quicker/easier to reconstruct?).

Confirmed the ship lost power.

CBS News on now....saying the warning came in 90 seconds before the crash.

 

[Dobre]

Per this thread:

https://twitter.com/claralfreitas/status/1773152434442911924

"The city's mayor's office of immigrant affairs is raising donations to support the six families."

The direct link is here:

Baltimore Immigrant Community Fund Key Bridge Emergency Response​

265 - MIMA - Key Bridge Emergency Response

 

[Stefanie]

I want to know how the two people that were saved managed to survive at all--especially from the impact of being that high up and then hitting the water. IIRC, one declined treatment and one was treated and released from Shock Trauma within a day. Do you know, @Debbie S ?

 

[Debbie S]

I want to know how the two people that were saved managed to survive at all--especially from the impact of being that high up and then hitting the water. IIRC, one declined treatment and one was treated and released from Shock Trauma within a day. Do you know, @Debbie S ?

I haven't heard anything. I imagine we'll hear more at some point?

Here's some positive news re the port workers: https://www.wbaltv.com/article/emergency-legislation-pay-baltimore-port-workers-key-bridge/60322501

 

[Aceon6]

I want to know how the two people that were saved managed to survive at all--especially from the impact of being that high up and then hitting the water. IIRC, one declined treatment and one was treated and released from Shock Trauma within a day. Do you know, @Debbie S ?

Our news said that they were in a work truck and just did their best to keep their heads low until impact.

 

[Debbie S]

A 1000-ton crane has arrived at the bridge site today and another is expected tomorrow, to start clearing debris and the ship. The first portion of federal funding has been approved.

LIVE UPDATES: Federal funding approved, crane to arrive Friday

Officials said two bodies were recovered Wednesday from a truck found underwater amid the remains of the collapsed Key Bridge.

www.wbaltv.com

I read that the port could be reopened in about a month.

A traffic report I heard during evening rush hour last night said traffic approaching the northbound Fort McHenry tunnel was backed up to Caton Ave (several miles). Backup at the Harbor Tunnel as well. It shouldn't be as bad during non-rush but I recommend allowing extra time if you're traveling through here. If you're coming into downtown from the south/DC, 295 may be a better option. If you're coming to the city from the north, you could exit I-95 at Eastern Ave or O'Donnell St, but backups may extend beyond those exits.

 

[PRlady]

A 1000-ton crane has arrived at the bridge site today and another is expected tomorrow, to start clearing debris and the ship. The first portion of federal funding has been approved.

LIVE UPDATES: Federal funding approved, crane to arrive Friday

Officials said two bodies were recovered Wednesday from a truck found underwater amid the remains of the collapsed Key Bridge.

www.wbaltv.com

I read that the port could be reopened in about a month.

A traffic report I heard during evening rush hour last night said traffic approaching the northbound Fort McHenry tunnel was backed up to Caton Ave (several miles). Backup at the Harbor Tunnel as well. It shouldn't be as bad during non-rush but I recommend allowing extra time if you're traveling through here. If you're coming into downtown from the south/DC, 295 may be a better option. If you're coming to the city from the north, you could exit I-95 at Eastern Ave or O'Donnell St, but backups may extend beyond those exits.

From DC, I’d go up 29 to 70 to the west side of the Baltimore Beltway and go around clockwise to 95 north. Fortunately we have no trips planned up that way until summer. I do have to take guests to BWI next month and hope the traffic doesn’t extend that far back.

 

[Debbie S]

From DC, I’d go up 29 to 70 to the west side of the Baltimore Beltway and go around clockwise to 95 north. Fortunately we have no trips planned up that way until summer. I do have to take guests to BWI next month and hope the traffic doesn’t extend that far back.

Probably not.

I took 29 to 70 a lot when commuting to U of MD (b-school) but the west side of the Beltway can be really bad, depending on time of day. The route through the city that I described earlier may be better, if traffic is not awful approaching the 395 exit. I-83/JFX can be slow during rush hours, but unlike the west-side Beltway, you actually move.

295 works if your destination is the city/downtown.

 

[gkelly]

Probably not.

I took 29 to 70 a lot when commuting to U of MD (b-school) but the west side of the Beltway can be really bad, depending on time of day. The route through the city that I described earlier may be better, if traffic is not awful approaching the 395 exit. I-83/JFX can be slow during rush hours, but unlike the west-side Beltway, you actually move.

295 works if your destination is the city/downtown.

Well, I want to go from DC area to New Jersey next week and it doesn't look as though there's a reasonable route that bypasses Baltimore entirely. I'll try to leave early enough to avoid the worst of rush hour and either take the tunnel or the west side of the beltway.

 

[Debbie S]

Well, I want to go from DC area to New Jersey next week and it doesn't look as though there's a reasonable route that bypasses Baltimore entirely. I'll try to leave early enough to avoid the worst of rush hour and either take the tunnel or the west side of the beltway.

Are you traveling on a weekday? If you get through here by 3 pm, you should be fine.

 

[gkelly]

Yes, Thursday.

Another half day off work to accomplish that. But then I might even get to the part of the drive that's unfamiliar while there's still some daylight.

 

[Aceon6]

Are employers encouraging people to work from home? That happens near me when there will be impacts on major roads and it allows those who really need the roads to avoid at least half of the commuters.

 

[Stefanie]

Interestingly enough, I've been teleworking full time since March 2020, and we are scheduled to go back into the office twice/week starting the week of April 8th (this has been in the works for months). I am wondering if TPTB will reconsider now with what happened as it's a large government agency...

 

[Sylvia]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1773835497220997376

We talked to one of the last drivers to cross the Key Bridge

A baker in Dundalk was one of the last people to cross the Key Bridge, making it off about a minute before it collapsed.

www.thebaltimorebanner.com

It was business as usual for Larry Desantis as he made his daily commute over the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
He clocked out from his bakery job in Pasadena at 1:18 a.m. Tuesday and drove to Herman’s Bakery in Dundalk where he is the head baker. [...]
He made it off the bridge around 1:27 a.m., and about a minute later, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed behind him after the Dali cargo ship ran into it.
Desantis said he didn’t hear the boom of the bridge crashing down because he had a SiriusXM radio channel playing, although he said he thought it was odd that the road was empty. Especially because Amazon has a large distribution center nearby.

“I didn’t even know anything was going on, but it was just really eerie when I got off of the bridge and there was nothing [behind me],” Desantis said. “Because with Amazon there, I’ll see 20 Amazon trucks every morning. I don’t care what day of the week it is. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing.”
It wasn’t until around 1:30 a.m. when he got a call from someone at his Pasadena job who made sure he was OK that he even realized the bridge collapsed.
“I think about it, I might not be here now if I had been just a little bit later,” he said. “Just a minute would’ve changed everything. It’s scary, you know.”

 

[Momandsk8er]

We drove through Baltimore this weekend.. NJ to Richmond. We hit Baltimore around noon on Thursday and 5pm Easter night. No slow downs at all and we just went right up/down 95. I was very pleasantly surprised. Not sure what it would have been like on a non- holiday trip.

 

[MacMadame]

The WaPo did an analysis of these long cargo ships losing power and concluded that it happens a lot and often near bridges and ports:

‘We’re a dead ship’: Hundreds of cargo ships lost propulsion in U.S. waters in recent years​

While the ship that felled the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore suffered a total blackout, such losses of engine power — including near bridges or ports — are hardly a one-off
https://wapo.st/3W2x4uM (gifted)

 

[Debbie S]

Bumping this thread back up with the latest news: the Dali has been refloated and removed from the channel, moved to a marine terminal nearby.

Dali container ship re-floated, moved to Seagirt

The ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March was re-floated early Monday morning and moved to the Seagirt Marine Terminal.

www.wbaltv.com

There have been several smaller channels open for about a month and another nearby port taking some deliveries, but the port is expected to fully reopen by the end of next week.

 

[Debbie S]

Full channel reopened!

Unified Command fully reopens Fort McHenry Federal Channel

Unified Command reopened the 700-foot-wide shipping channel that will restore business at the Port of Baltimore.

www.wbaltv.com