Bridges can fall and collapse for a multitude of reasons. The exact environment construction or maintenance can play a factor in the cause of a bridge collapse. However, in the case of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Md., the cause is clear: a massive boat ran into it.
In the early hours of March 26, the container ship MV Dali struck the southwest supporting pier of the main truss of the bridge, causing it to immediately collapse. At the time of the collision, the MV Dali was suffering from major electrical issues causing the boat to lose power — losing the ability to use the boat’s rudder to steer through the narrow channel.
Before the bridge was struck at 1:20 am, the MV Dali had already told the port of Baltimore about the issue and police were able to stop cars from driving onto the bridge. However, eight people were doing maintenance on the bridge and were unaware of the impending disaster. Two people were saved from the water but the other six passed away.
The boat also went on an incredibly unlucky path. A few feet left or right and the boat would have run aground: missing the pier. Without power, the boat drifted down directly into the bridge.
After the collapse video quickly surfaced on social media, showing what had happened and causing widespread media coverage and talk amongst the wider public. This led to wild conspiracies about how the boat was hijacked or that the crash was planned on purpose. Republican congresspeople also blamed Baltimore’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies for the collapse.
The root cause of this bridge collapse was the boat hitting the structure; however, massive debate surrounds whether more protection should have been built to shield the bridge from collisions like this.
This tragedy raises questions about the quality of American infrastructure in general. A 2021 report card showed one in every 13 bridges as in “poor condition.” Engineers predict it may take around 10 years to rebuild the Baltimore bridge, double the five years it took to build the original in 1977.
There were also questions raised as to whether larger dolphin devices would have saved the bridge. A dolphin device is a big concrete barrier that protects a bridge from a collision with a large ship. While the Francis Scott Key bridge did have a primitive dolphin device installed, it was small, and the MV Dali missed it entirely. Whether or not a larger and more modern dolphin would have saved the bridge is unknown, but it is being fiercely debated amongst experts in the field.
The Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was not a complicated engineering failure, but rather a big thing knocking over a smaller thing: the equivalent of someone punching a Jenga tower and then falling over. Many questions over why the Dali lost power and if the dolphin devices would have had a strong effect remain, but the reason behind the tragedy of the collapse is fully known.
