Feeling the earth shake as the bridge beneath one’s feet instantly falls into the dark river below. The fear of dying creeps up on one’s shoulder as they hear a fellow construction worker scream. On March 26, 2024, a cargo ship hit a pillar of the Baltimore Bridge causing the structure to collide into pieces.
In an article about the bridge collapsing by CNN, they interviewed one of the directors of the DALI cargo ship, Andy Middleton. Middleton told CNN that he talked with the captain of the ship who said that the vessel was going to take a longer route to avoid risks along the Yemen Coast. So, the cargo was not even supposed to be going through the bridge, and there were no proper precautions taken about the new route. Throughout the years, boatloads have increased tremendously causing the shipment to expand. Overweight loads can lead to more incidents, and those in charge have to understand the importance of safety for any boat. With older bridges, like the Baltimore Bridge which was built in 1977, many cargos may not be able to fit. Also, the ship had tugboats at the beginning of the journey making sure the boat was stable but were then allowed to leave after the ship was correctly positioned. The DALI company should have informed the captain of the ship of the width and length of the bridge, or the tugboats should have stayed with the cargo and the whole collision could have been avoided overall. Although the ship should have taken precautions, the bridge also wasn’t built with the correct safety procedures.
An article from Iowa Public Radio explains that the concrete structures of protection for the bridge have not been changed or updated since the original construction. This means that the pillar’s sturdiness may have not been the strongest. Also, many buildings have protective barriers that inform the captain of the length the pillars are at, but the Baltimore Bridge was not made with any. So, the captain was not provided with the lengths of the pillars until he went under the bridge. If there had been more money put into the bridge, maybe there would have been enough safety for the cargo.
Instead of putting funds into increasing the safety of the structure, the government will have to pay billions of dollars to create a new bridge. Over 30,000 vehicles daily drive on the formation, and without the convenience of it, the city will be suffering with traffic. Due to two different systems not having the right protection for everyone, many will suffer the consequences of having to build a new bridge.
