Lessons from the Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Edge Brief:

• Collapse Overview: The Francis Scott Key Bridge, vital for I-695, met its demise on March 26 due to a collision with the container ship Dali, underscoring urgent infrastructure resilience needs.

• Safety and Design Flaws: Originally built in 1977 without modern safeguards, the tragedy highlights the critical need for updating infrastructure to include impact-mitigating features.

• Widespread Impact: Beyond the immediate disaster, the bridge's collapse has significant repercussions for global supply chains, particularly affecting the auto and energy sectors, and calls attention to the necessity of comprehensive infrastructure reform.

Edge Insight:

The Incident: On March 26, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed after being struck by the container ship Dali. This event resulted in the bridge, an essential transport route, falling into the Patapsco River, and revealed glaring vulnerabilities in the bridge’s resilience against collision.

The Structure: The Francis Scott Key Bridge was a 2.63km long steel arch continuous through truss bridge that carried the Interstate-695 across the Patapsco River and the outer Baltimore Harbor.

• Construction of the bridge commenced in 1972 and was completed in 1977.

• Bridge cost $60.3m to build ($316m in today’s prices)

• Main span (366m) was third longest span of any continuous truss bridge in the world.

• Carried an estimated 12.4 million vehicles in 2023.

• Impact led to Pier failure and progressive collapse of entire bridge.

Experts Views on Bridge Rebuild:

Reflecting on Design: Constructed in 1977, the Francis Scott Key Bridge did not incorporate modern safety features such as robust protective "dolphins", which could have prevented or lessened the impact of the collision. This raises the need for an immediate re-evaluation and potential update of similar structures to meet modern standards and anticipate future needs.

The Human Cost: The collision occurred while maintenance work was being done on the concrete bridge deck. Maryland authorities have presumed six individuals missing following the collapse to be dead, transitioning their efforts from rescue to recovery.

Averted Disaster: The quick response from officials, who managed to halt traffic on the bridge following a reported power failure on the Dali, potentially saved numerous lives.

Supply Chain Impact: The closure of one of the U.S.'s busiest shipping lanes spells major disruptions for global supply chains. With the Port of Baltimore handling a significant portion of the country's automobile and liquified natural gas exports.

• Danish shipping giant Maersk, will pause Baltimore services for the foreseeable future.

• Over 750,000 cars transit through the port annually.

• Used by General Motors, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Fiat and Audi to name a few.

• Exports 500,000 tonnes in liquified natural gas per month (implications to UK and EU).

• Numerous rail and coal companies have warned customers of disruption to coal exports.

Government Intervention: President Biden's commitment to rapid reconstruction is a promising step, yet the incident is a glaring reminder of the broader need for comprehensive infrastructure reform, with only $110 billion of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (2021) going to roads and bridges. The focus should not only be on rebuilding but ensuring future resilience, safety, and adaptability.

In Conclusion: The Baltimore bridge collapse is a stark reminder of the interconnectedness of modern infrastructure, supply chains, the economy and human safety. As investigations continue and plans for reconstruction begin, the lessons learned from this tragedy will likely inform future engineering and design standards, aiming to prevent such devastating incidents from occurring again.