A Bridge Too Far

Unstoppable, Like Lava

On March 26th at 1:28am, sections of the Francis Scott Key Bridge near Baltimore collapsed after a container ship struck one of its piers. Two construction crew members working on the bridge were killed; four remain missing.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge opened to traffic in 1977 as the third longest continuous truss bridge in the world and second longest in the United States. It stretched 1.6 miles over the Patapsco River and held four lanes of traffic as part of I-695’s loop around Baltimore. Some 34,000 vehicles crossed the bridge each day.

The Patapsco gives access to the Port of Baltimore. From Wikipedia:

“The port handled more than 444,000 passengers, 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo valued at $80 billion in 2023, and was the leading U.S. port for automobiles and light trucks for the preceding 13 consecutive years (with more than 847,000 vehicles in 2023). It also employed 15,000 people and indirectly supported 140,000 others.”

A passenger vehicle that weighs two tons and traveling at 65 miles per hour needs about 316 feet, about the length of a football field, to stop.

A fully loaded tractor-trailer that weighs 40 tons needs about 525 feet, about one and three-quarter football fields, to stop.

The Dali is 984 feet long (nearly as long as the Eiffel Tower is tall). It left the Port of Baltimore at 12:44am that morning with a crew of 22 and was headed for Sri Lanka. It carried nearly 4,700 containers.

The Dali was moving about 9 mph when it lost power, including the steering system. Mayday calls gave authorities precious time enough to clear most bridge traffic, though not the construction crew, working to fill potholes. Then it hit a pier, and the collapse followed.

In drivers ed classes, we learn how size and weight informs time required to stop. It’s a central part of getting certified for commercial driving licenses. When the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the DOT emphasize the importance of maintaining safe distance between vehicles on our roads and highways.

Accidents as a result of following too closely on our roadways are largely preventable. The NTSB will determine if the Dali’s systems failure was preventable.

As this tragedy transpired, though, this was like a lava flow. There was nothing anyone or anything on earth could do to stop the Dali from hitting the Francis Scott Key Bridge.