Welcome home, fellow Gator.

The Gator Nation's oldest and most active insider community
Join today!
  1. Hi there... Can you please quickly check to make sure your email address is up to date here? Just in case we need to reach out to you or you lose your password. Muchero thanks!

Key Baltimore bridge collapses after collision

Discussion in 'Too Hot for Swamp Gas' started by citygator, Mar 26, 2024.

  1. antny1

    antny1 GC Hall of Fame

    5,463
    2,849
    2,698
    Dec 3, 2019
    FB_IMG_1711458568847.jpg

    Hard to fathom how any support structure could withstand the forces involved with a strike from that type of mass, especially since it looks like the structure uses composite members to form each structure
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2024
    • Informative Informative x 1
  2. Gatorhead

    Gatorhead GC Hall of Fame

    18,131
    6,054
    3,313
    Apr 3, 2007
    Philadelphia
    Shades of the Skyway. So awful.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  3. Gatorhead

    Gatorhead GC Hall of Fame

    18,131
    6,054
    3,313
    Apr 3, 2007
    Philadelphia
    100,000 tons at speed usually wins.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
    • Winner Winner x 1
  4. Gatorrick22

    Gatorrick22 GC Hall of Fame

    88,999
    26,829
    4,613
    Apr 3, 2007
    Yep, one of those cable news channels even mentioned that this morning. I had to check out the news for this... awful and tragic indeed.
     
  5. Gatorhead

    Gatorhead GC Hall of Fame

    18,131
    6,054
    3,313
    Apr 3, 2007
    Philadelphia
    While I agree that long spanning bridges should have them (protective bumpers or pilons) one must recall bridges in the USA are a deteriorating infrastructure nightmare. What you are posting has billion dollar implications. It's not lack of engineering attention, it's lack of political will and money.
     
    • Agree Agree x 7
    • Winner Winner x 1
  6. Gator40

    Gator40 Avada Kedavra

    14,156
    504
    518
    Apr 3, 2007
    Amazing picture. And yes, they keep making these cargo ships bigger and heavier and expect bridge designs/pilons from 55+ years ago to hold up to direct hits because "they were made to sustain hits" back then.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  7. archigator_96

    archigator_96 GC Hall of Fame

    3,934
    3,603
    1,923
    Apr 8, 2020
    Because back then when the Skyway was hit no one thought it would be an issue. All these protections sadly go in after the fact. I bet going forward these will be required on all new bridges but back in the late 70's when the Baltimore bridge was built, no such worries.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  8. Gatorhead

    Gatorhead GC Hall of Fame

    18,131
    6,054
    3,313
    Apr 3, 2007
    Philadelphia
    I was actually in Tampa at the time by coincidence. An interesting and sad case sudy. "A perfect storm" and thats not a figure of speech.
    The pilot, during his approach to the bridge was hit by a violent squall at the worst possible time causing a loss of navigation, compoounded of course by the
    lack of protective bumpers or pilons.

    Almost like that DFW plane accident when the American Airline crash occured because of freakish weather conditions.
     
    • Informative Informative x 2
    • Agree Agree x 1
  9. Gator40

    Gator40 Avada Kedavra

    14,156
    504
    518
    Apr 3, 2007
    You are correct. I didn't mean to imply every bridge should be structurally reengineered, but that they should do something to protect the pilons like the bumpers the Skyway bridge has had since it opened new in 1987.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Come On Man Come On Man x 1
  10. Gatorhead

    Gatorhead GC Hall of Fame

    18,131
    6,054
    3,313
    Apr 3, 2007
    Philadelphia
    While I don't study bridge plans and spec's in my construction duties I suspect that the standards were changed after that accident.
     
  11. Gatorhead

    Gatorhead GC Hall of Fame

    18,131
    6,054
    3,313
    Apr 3, 2007
    Philadelphia
    On a bizarre personal note I have experienced recurring dreams of driving off impossibly tall bridge spans that had "fallen".
    PTSD from the Skyway perhaps? I don't know, but when it happens I wake up ina cold sweat. Not kidding about that.
     
    • Friendly Friendly x 1
  12. gator_lawyer

    gator_lawyer VIP Member

    18,222
    6,173
    3,213
    Oct 30, 2017
    Speechless.
     
    • Disagree Bacon! Disagree Bacon! x 1
  13. QGator2414

    QGator2414 VIP Member

    18,425
    1,614
    1,308
    Aug 24, 2009
    Ocala
    No ability to steer do to loss of power?

    Not saying that is what happened. But sure looks likely.
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2024
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Informative Informative x 1
  14. antny1

    antny1 GC Hall of Fame

    5,463
    2,849
    2,698
    Dec 3, 2019
    Seems like a relatively simple retro fit though and something that would have been considered for such a busy shipping port.
     
  15. antny1

    antny1 GC Hall of Fame

    5,463
    2,849
    2,698
    Dec 3, 2019

    I'm guilty of having blind faith on such massive and long standing structures. Just seems unfathomable to me. Blissfully ignorant i guess.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  16. archigator_96

    archigator_96 GC Hall of Fame

    3,934
    3,603
    1,923
    Apr 8, 2020
    Very simple, however two things occur that prevent it from happening. 1. Cost, particularly when they don't have it budgeted. Now they have to replace a bridge which is vastly more expensive than some protective concrete bumpers. 2. Lax attitude. "well since it hasn't happened since 1978 it probably will never happen." So people in charge don't think about it. Bet they start.
    The other thing is most of these large important bridges are part of the Fed interstate system so it falls on the federal government to take care of with some cooperation from state D.O.T. agencies.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  17. archigator_96

    archigator_96 GC Hall of Fame

    3,934
    3,603
    1,923
    Apr 8, 2020
    Can't imagine the toll if this had happened during rush hour a few hours later.
     
    • Agree Agree x 3
  18. wgbgator

    wgbgator Premium Member

    30,267
    1,911
    2,218
    Apr 19, 2007
    If there is human error/ bad visibility here, something tells me that's less likely in daylight than in the middle of the night
     
  19. archigator_96

    archigator_96 GC Hall of Fame

    3,934
    3,603
    1,923
    Apr 8, 2020
    True, but it looked like a power failure. Those port pilots that steer the ship have done it hundreds of times. We'll see.
    I also can't wait for the conspiracy theorists to come up with something.
     
    • Agree Agree x 3
    • Winner Winner x 2
  20. ElimiGator

    ElimiGator GC Hall of Fame

    1,368
    1,422
    1,908
    Apr 8, 2007
    Jax
    It’s what happens when you know too much. I know how you feel.
     
    • Agree Agree x 3