Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695) complete collapse after large ship hits it

[Max Rockatansky]

I don't have any real issue with the demolition -- the only reason not to would be if they were going to simply replace those spans -- and that would have the same problems dimensionally.
Other posters can take as many cracks in this thread as their heart desires -- you can put up 100 posts in a day -- and I won't mind. That would be up to the moderators to decide on whether to allow that.

Ah, throwing mods at me I see?  I guess they won't mind me saying that you're continuing attempts to hijack this thread to voice your self-centric views are pretty lame. 

I posted my detailed opinions over a several day period with the last on April 21st -- post #737. They remain for anyone to read.

Even now the thread is only up to post #748. I have revised my posting style to be more concise and limited and that shows.

And yet, you chose to highlight again when someone else posted about the original span being demolished.  Doesn't seem as though that you wanted your comments and thoughts to disappear into background.

[ixnay]

You can no longer cross the old bridge on Google Maps Street View: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.2097743,-76.5394925,3a,75y,84.22h,76.76t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1stKnn9TlC9nGFnsrNHgUIPg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D13.238972568883852%26panoid%3DtKnn9TlC9nGFnsrNHgUIPg%26yaw%3D84.21568909980498!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDYzMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D.

A good view of the skyline and the cranes at the Dundalk terminal are still available at https://www.google.com/maps/@39.2258404,-76.5167945,3a,16.2y,313.45h,89.95t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1so2rR7IMdEFP7LRIXOdgvjg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D0.05288936554730128%26panoid%3Do2rR7IMdEFP7LRIXOdgvjg%26yaw%3D313.448902669387!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDYzMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D .

And if you spin that view around you can see the abandoned cranes at Sparrows Point.

[Henry]

Full transcript of the WTOP article is as follows:

Demolition of the remaining structures of Baltimore's collapsed Key Bridge will begin on July 7, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) announced on Thursday.

The demolition efforts in the Patapsco River will take several months with the use of heavy machinery, the MDTA warned.

What will the demolition look like?
Work will start with the removal of the bridge deck over the river, then demolition of sections over Hawkins Point and Sollers Point.

Crews will initially remove parts of the collapsed bridge that stand in the way of the alignment of the Key Bridge rebuild, which is expected to be completed in 2028.

MDTA says controlled detonations will not be used during this phase of the demolition.

What should nearby residents expect?
There will be tug and barge operations on the river, with heavy equipment and trucks seen on the remaining bridge structure.

MDTA says boats and those in the waterways should avoid the collapse site near the demolition process. Demolition crews will use excavators, concrete saws, vacuums, cranes, and trucks.

Heavy and loud construction work will be from 7 a.m. through 7 p.m.

What's next for the Key Bridge rebuild?
The Key Bridge reconstruction project will cost about $2 billion, and it will take about four years to complete.

Pre-construction activities began in January 2025, which included inspections of nearby properties, riverbed scanning, and soil sample collection. In February, the MDTA authorized three contracts worth $20 million each for construction management and inspection services.

A new cable-stay design revealed in February shows that the new structure will visually resemble the original bridge while implementing structural improvements. The new Key Bridge will be taller to better accommodate ship traffic, with the federal shipping channel expanding from 700 to 1,000 feet wide and the base raised by 45 feet to a height of 230 feet.

The bridge roadway will still be two lanes wide going in each direction. Other pier support structures will be implemented to secure the structure.

According to the MDTA, other bridge features include:

• Two 12-foot lanes in each direction, 10-foot-wide outside shoulders and 4-foot-wide inside shoulders per direction of travel
• Total Bridge length more than 2 miles
• Two bridge towers more than 600 feet tall
• Distance between main span pylons exceeding 1,600 feet
• Total length of cable-stayed main span exceeding 3,300 feet
• Expected life span of 100 years

"Our new bridge will also be constructed in accordance with the most advanced industry standards and the very best in infrastructure design," Maryland Gov. Moore said. "We are going to use the best materials available and employ many Marylanders to build it."

A need for a new Key Bridge
Residents and business owners can't wait until the new Key Bridge is built.

Donna, the general manager of Donna's Tavern in Dundalk, said her business and others nearby suffered when the bridge collapsed.

"When the bridge came down. it hurt everyone, and it hurt us," Donna said. "It's tough for people getting to this side to enjoy things, and we're looking forward to the new bridge coming."

Lauren Ratliff told WJZ that she has to go 45 minutes out of her way to get to her job.

She said the bridge was a big part of Baltimore's history, and she wishes some of it could be preserved.

"In one way, yes, I'm excited, but in another way it's sad," Ratliff said.

"I'm just excited to see progress," Donna said. "It will be nice to have the bridge back."

Who is paying for the new Key Bridge?
In December 2024, Congress passed a deal on a federal spending package, which allocated $100 billion for disaster relief, including the entire cost of a new Key Bridge.

At the time, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the efforts to complete the work on a new Key Bridge were "on time and on budget."

How did Baltimore's Key Bridge collapse?
On March 26, 2024, the cargo ship DALI, a 948-foot vessel managed by Singapore-based company Synergy Marine Group, lost power before crashing into the Key Bridge, according to investigators. Six construction workers performing road work on the bridge died after falling into the Patapsco River.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the ship lost power four times in 12 hours before the collision.

The NTSB blamed MDTA for not conducting a critical vulnerability assessment on the Key Bridge, which it said could have identified the structure's risk of collapse.

The NTSB review found the level of risk for a catastrophic collapse for the Key Bridge was nearly 30 times higher than acceptable risk levels.

"The MDTA would've had information to proactively identify strategies to reduce the risk of a collapse and loss of lives associated with a vessel collision with the bridge," MDTA chair Jennifer Homendy said.

[Beltway]

The NTSB blamed MDTA for not conducting a critical vulnerability assessment on the Key Bridge, which it said could have identified the structure's risk of collapse.

The NTSB review found the level of risk for a catastrophic collapse for the Key Bridge was nearly 30 times higher than acceptable risk levels.

"The MDTA would've had information to proactively identify strategies to reduce the risk of a collapse and loss of lives associated with a vessel collision with the bridge," MDTA chair Jennifer Homendy said.

MDTA still has released no information on how they will protect this bridge from ship collisions.

On their website they have this rendering with little concrete tubs around the main piers and looks puny compared to the Sunshine Skyway system.  A public relations blunder.

The Sunshine Skyway and their protective measures is a 40-year old design when ships were much smaller. MV Summit Venture was around 19,000 tons. The biggest ships now are around 200,000 tons.

[Beltway]

They finally put something on their website about protection schemes.

How will the new design prevent another bridge strike?

The bridge piers will be protected by massive protection structures, which will be designed per the latest American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) specifications and follow best practices for modern vessel collision protection.  Additionally, the main span length of the bridge has been increased to provide additional clearance from the shipping channel.

I have several comments about this.

It is way too general to provide any real info to the public. It would be appropriate to see a conceptual design in plan view.

They are claiming a 1,600 foot main span length when the USCG permit says 1,400 feet. Neither is much of an improvement over the original 1,200 feet, and the main piers will still be in water 35 to 40 feet deep at mean high water level.

What are "massive protection structures" and how will they protect the bridge without impeding water flows in the river? In water that deep it would take huge fills to build an island with 2:1 slopes (at minimum) down to the riverbed. Concrete structures would be massive as well to be anchored to the bedrock and tall enough to be above water.

The AASHTO  Guide Specifications and Commentary for Vessel Collision Design of Highway Bridges (2nd Edition) was published in 2009, is their latest, so it is already aging, and it wouldn't include the Dali event which IMHO completely changes the equation regarding probability and risk for bridges over busy shipping channels.

The Dali event -- in that a vessel that massive was handled that recklessly – like with nuclear reactors and weapons, you simply cannot afford to even make one mistake. So now we have to design for idiots that mishandle a 200,000 ton vessel in a busy harbor and at 17 knots (that speed from a recent ship flap in a busy harbor).

So there are no bridge protection standards out there that are up to date and usable. At least not for bridges over channels that carry large ocean-going ships.

The protection system for the Sunshine Skyway added 20% to the cost of the bridge project, so these things do have a considerable cost.

The Sunshine Skyway and their protective measures is a 40-year old design when ships were much smaller. MV Summit Venture was around 19,000 tons.

Once again -- bridge the main span all the way across the river (Gordie Howe for example) or build a tunnel (I-664 for example).

Another topic – all this talk about HAZMAT that constantly comes up on various forums that discuss this bridge. The best data I can find is that the AADT was about 32,000 with 10% large trucks with about 10% of the shipments being material that MDTA won't allow thru the tunnels.

So about 350 to 400 shipments per day. To me that is very little justification for spending $2 billion to avoid tunnels; granted there were the other 31,000 vehicles. But the two Interstate highway cross-harbor tunnels carry the 225,000 AADT now and have a total of 12 lanes.

That is about the same AADT as the I-495 American Legion Bridge which has 8 thru lanes. The Key Bridge had 1/7 of that traffic and Maryland is doing nothing to expand the ALB and the rest of I-495 between VA and I-270 to the VA 12-lane cross-section (4-2-2-4) with HOT lanes.

You can't transport hazardous materials or anything else across bridges that are now sitting in a junkyard.

I hold the Maryland highway administration establishment in utter contempt for their conduct in these matters.

[jeffandnicole]

So you'll feel better if they publish a fake picture? Clearly if they're still to be designed, you'll complain that the conceptual image isn't fact.

[kphoger]

I kind of think what we need is for NE2 to make a meme about Beltway.

[BrianP]

The Dali, a neopanamax ship, has a draft around 50 ft.  So how is that supposed to reach one of the towers in water that's 40 ft or less?  A smaller panamax ship has a draft around 40 ft.  That likely would still run aground to some degree which would slow it down.  And even if somehow it's slowly moving toward a tower something like a dolphin seems likely to stop it the rest of the way.

[NE2]

I kind of think what we need is for NE2 to make a meme about Beltway.

Here's an appetizer: a beltway interchange with a dolphin.
https://wiki.aaroads.com/wiki/Dolphin%E2%80%93Palmetto_Interchange

[Beltway]

The Dali, a neopanamax ship, has a draft around 50 ft.  So how is that supposed to reach one of the towers in water that's 40 ft or less?  A smaller panamax ship has a draft around 40 ft.  That likely would still run aground to some degree which would slow it down.  And even if somehow it's slowly moving toward a tower something like a dolphin seems likely to stop it the rest of the way.

At the time of the collision with Pier 17 of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the MV Dali was drawing approximately 39.9 feet of draft fore and aft. That's notably shallower than its maximum summer draft of about 49 feet, indicating it was not fully loaded when departing Baltimore.

At the time of the collision it was around 1:28 a.m. EDT on March 26, 2024 — the tidal state was near low tide. High tides there are about 2.1 feet higher.

Wind-driven tides—also called storm tides or wind setup—can raise water levels in the Patapsco River near the Key Bridge by an additional 1 to 3 feet, depending on wind speed, direction, and duration.

At the time of the collision the MV Dali was carrying approximately 95,000 tons of cargo, with a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of 116,851 metric tons and a displacement of about 149,000 metric tons

To give readers a picture of how much 100,000+ tons is, consider this -- the massive Cape Hatteras lighthouse weighs about 5,000 tons aboveground and about 1,000 tons below ground.

If it was out in open waters, what do you think would happen if such a ship hit it at 10 knots?

[Beltway]

I kind of think what we need is for NE2 to make a meme about Beltway.

Here's an appetizer: a beltway interchange with a dolphin.
https://wiki.aaroads.com/wiki/Dolphin%E2%80%93Palmetto_Interchange

Unfortunately, Flipper will not save the day.

Flipper will protect your divers from underwater threats -- but while he likes to jump briefly out of the water and likes the sensation of being in the air, his domain 99% of the time is underwater -- so he can't protect you from surface threats.

[Beltway]

So you'll feel better if they publish a fake picture? Clearly if they're still to be designed, you'll complain that the conceptual image isn't fact.

The real issue: MDTA's PR blunder in showing on their website an image of a cable-stayed bridge without the promised ship-collision protection system. Fenders or dolphins should've been in the concept to reassure the public post-Dali. It's not about final plans -- engineers are still studying -- but leaving out safety visuals is tone-deaf. This isn't a scam, just a dumb oversight.

[kphoger]

I kind of think what we need is for NE2 to make a meme about Beltway.

Here's an appetizer: a beltway interchange with a dolphin.
https://wiki.aaroads.com/wiki/Dolphin%E2%80%93Palmetto_Interchange

I was thinking something more like this:

[Beltway]

I kind of think what we need is for NE2 to make a meme about Beltway.

Here's an appetizer: a beltway interchange with a dolphin.
https://wiki.aaroads.com/wiki/Dolphin%E2%80%93Palmetto_Interchange

I was thinking something more like this:

Distracted? Nah, I'm staring at MDTA's CATEX dodge, skipping public input.

Gawking at truth ain't the issue -- MDTA's ignoring NTSB's 2025 vessel strike warnings is (MIR-25-10).

Tunnel's safer -- Hampton Roads' HRBT proves it. Meme's cute, but facts hit harder.

Distracted's you, dodging facts for pixels.

[kphoger]

Distracted's you, dodging facts for pixels.

What facts have I dodged?  I don't even really care all that much about the issue.  I'm just fascinated by your single-minded obsession with it.

[Max Rockatansky]

I wonder sometimes if Beltway own stock in construction companies which specialize in building highway tunnels.  I feel like this goes beyond just having a simple opinion and has devolved into an aggressive sales pitch.

[Beltway]

Distracted's you, dodging facts for pixels.

What facts have I dodged?  I don't even really care all that much about the issue.  I'm just fascinated by your single-minded obsession with it.

I'm just fascinated (not really) by the coterie of posters in this thread who have nothing to say but Stupid Stuff.

Just like I walked away from Rothmann and ignored him after he started poking at me about my posts on the contract awards on the I-64 GAP Project, I will do the same with posters here.

[Max Rockatansky]

I don't know, it feels like you want to endlessly goad everyone into arguing with you.  Every time this thread tapers off or goes another direction and you're the one who injects yourself back into it.

[Rothman]

I kind of think what we need is for NE2 to make a meme about Beltway.

Here's an appetizer: a beltway interchange with a dolphin.
https://wiki.aaroads.com/wiki/Dolphin%E2%80%93Palmetto_Interchange

I was thinking something more like this:

Distracted? Nah, I'm staring at MDTA's CATEX dodge, skipping public input.

I didn't take Beltway as a treehugger.

[Strider]

I don't know, it feels like you want to endlessly goad everyone into arguing with you.  Every time this thread tapers off or goes another direction and you're the one who injects yourself back into it.

Beltway does that in many other posts too. Not just this one. That's how Beltway is, it seems.