Francis Scott Key Bridge - Class I Impact

[eolesen]

Noted in another group. Seaports received 2.25 billion in the Biden infrastructure bill. Amtrak received 2.1 billion.

One of those keeps the economy moving, the other is an oversized train set for politicians.

Something tells me the economic impact of the port being closed will be in the billion-dollar range when all is said and done. All for the sake of $30 million in protective buffers that the state of Maryland chose not to build....

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[Gilbert B Norman]

Everything you want to know about the M/V Dali:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Dali

Of interest. Dali was under charter to Maersk. Funny how they seem to be "ducking for cover" at present:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ship-t ... 024-03-26/

Also, the vessel was involved in a dock collision incident at Antwerp during 2016.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ship-t ... 024-03-26/

As I noted earlier, I think the vessel's Seaworthiness and Seamanship will be "very much under the microscope" by any agency investigating the incident.

[STrRedWolf]

At one time, Sparrows Point was a Bethlehem Steel (Mittal) mill, and surely had rail service at that time. Hopefully, the B&O trackage remained (did PRR have access as well?) so that "for the duration" there will be rail service available.

There is still some trackage according to Google SatView and OpenStreetMaps, plus enough area to restore some trackage.

However, it is quite likely that the disruption to the Port will be of far less duration than it will be to build a new bridge. Of interest, will the new structure again be arch, or will it be the single spire suspension design becoming quite prevalent throughout the world today?

Maryland Transportation Administration (MdTA) and the parent MD Department of Transportation are working on the designs now, per news conferences w/MDOT Administrator. So it's still early yet.

I bet they'll have a passage clear in a week or two, though.

[eolesen]

No way it's a couple of weeks. I was talking to my brother-in-law who works for what I presume is one of Tadman's competitors, and he said 90 days at a minimum. Getting the equipment staged and other planning to start the demolition is going to take 4 to 8 weeks alone.

The divers and other experts necessary to do this aren't just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring.

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[Gilbert B Norman]

Interesting article appearing today in The Times addressing the incident from the perspective of Civil Engineers.

Fair Use:

The large container ship that collided with the Key Bridge in Baltimore, leading to its near-total collapse, appeared to strike a critical component, known as a pylon or pier, according to several engineers who have reviewed footage of the incident.

Without the pier, they said, it was impossible for other components of the bridge to assume the load and keep the bridge standing.

The piers on a bridge act as a kind of leg and are what is known as “nonredundant” parts of a bridge’s structure. If a pier is somehow taken out, there is nothing to compensate for the missing structural support, and a collapse of the bridge is all but inevitable, most of the analysts said.

Between the lines: "Accident waiting to happen".

[STrRedWolf]

No way it's a couple of weeks. I was talking to my brother-in-law who works for what I presume is one of Tadman's competitors, and he said 90 days at a minimum. Getting the equipment staged and other planning to start the demolition is going to take 4 to 8 weeks alone.

The impression I got from the powers that be during press briefings was that several agencies had started calling the morning of the collapse and they were already on the move. Some experts are predicting a May clearance.

That said, I hope NTSB brought in enough manpower to get the info off the outer legs of the bridge and clear the outer channels for *some* ships to come in and out of the bay. The Army Corps of Engineers is already engaged here, so I bet they're already planning things out.

Still... I'll concede the two weeks. I'll just focus my frustration onto my local congress critter for not letting MTA continue building the subway system!

[STrRedWolf]

https://www.bbc.com/news/68691201

The state has requested a host of resources to help with the clean-up process.

The US Army Corps of Engineers is covering the cost of clearing the channel and has 32 staff members and 38 US Navy contractors on the ground, said Maryland's Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.

He added that a 1,000-ton (907-tonne) crane - the largest on the US eastern seaboard - would arrive around 0:00 EST (04:00 GMT) on Friday to help remove debris. A 400 ton crane would then come on Saturday to further aid in clearing the debris.

In the meantime, those involved in the clean-up process must figure out how to cut debris from the bridge into pieces so they can be lifted by the crane, said Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath of the US Coast Guard.

NBC News/Today reports (with video) that the 1000-ton crane has arrived, and the Army Corp of Engineers are planning the cuts needed to salvage the bridge in chunks that the crane and a 400+160 ton crane can handle.

As I find more info, I will refine my opinion. I think once the NTSB allows salvage operations to start, they'll get a channel for boat traffic cleared, likely on the Western (Anne Arundel County) side, in two weeks.

[Gilbert B Norman]

While I hope I am not deemed guilty of attempting to turn railroad net into maritime net, I share this Times article to show how the global economy depends upon the free movement of these vessels, and when they enter inland waterways to dock, just how they make land transportation, which certainly means railroads, vulnerable with their presence.

Fair Use:

Even before an enormous container ship rammed a bridge in Baltimore in the early hours of Tuesday, sending the span hurtling into the Patapsco River, and halting cargo traffic at a major American port, there was ample reason to worry about the troubles dogging the global supply chain.

Between swirling geopolitical winds, the variables of climate change and continued disruptions resulting from the pandemic, the risks of depending on ships to carry goods around the planet were already conspicuous. The pitfalls of relying on factories across oceans to supply everyday items like clothing and critical wares like medical devices were at once vivid and unrelenting.

It appears the consensus is one month to restore access to the Port and just weeks to allow passage of small craft.

[eolesen]

I was looking at a nautical chart.. North of the 1200ft spans and under the concrete bridge spans it's a 20 ft draft. Some traffic could move thru there at high tide, especially if empty and lightly fueled.

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[STrRedWolf]

I was looking at a nautical chart.. North of the 1200ft spans and under the concrete bridge spans it's a 20 ft draft. Some traffic could move thru there at high tide, especially if empty and lightly fueled.

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Yeah, they're keeping the entire thing closed for a while until they can get a deeper channel opened up. I won't be surprised if a dredger is brought in on the section they're cutting up right now. 24-hour operation to get it back open, per news reports.

[STrRedWolf]

As the ACoE (Army Corp of Engineers) is yanking pieces of bridge out of the water, a temporary channel, 11' deep, has been opened w/restrictions. It will help with some smaller vessels to get in and out. It's located on northeastern side of the area.

Semi-related to trains, Carnival Cruiselines have rerouted their Legend cruise ship to Norfolk, and is bussing people up to Baltimore and back. Hmmm... Amtrak could help here...

[RandallW]

Carnival would need to bus to Amtrak to bus to serve their needs; it might be way easier to give passengers a single ride from pier to pier than add two additional transportation changes.

[Gilbert B Norman]

A radio report today stated that seventy busses were needed to handle the Carnivale passengers and their baggage.

70 busses × 40 passengers on each bus = 2800 passengers. Wow, where's there room for "love" on that "Love Tub"?

But to the point 2800 pax/70 pax on an A-I = 40 A-1's, which would require two "sections" to handle that move.

Anybody think Amtrak has the resources to handle such?

[eolesen]

The Carnival Legend's capacity is only 2100. Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas is 2500 guests. That's my idea of a perfect size for a cruise, but the real reason they used the smaller ships *was* the FSK Bridge.... the 3000+ guest ships couldn't fit underneath it.

Having taken more than a few cruises (it's my wife's favorite pastime...), the Customs halls aren't meant to have more than about 300-800 people at a time. On a good day, CBP needs to keep people moving out of the terminal at a rate of 15 per minute. Having a bus departing every 2-5 minutes is a lot more efficient than moving people from port to train to parking... Amtrak on a good day would be hard pressed to be able to handle 1000 people with 1.5 bags each on a train other than the AutoTrain.

Buses were running from the port in Norfolk to the cruise terminal in Baltimore where customers could be reunited with cars parked in the surface lots near the port.

Some number of guests who booked flights thru Carnival from BWI were rerouted to fly from ORF instead, so not everyone was bused to Baltimore.

[Gilbert B Norman]

This interesting Journal article shows how efficient by means of their size, Container vessels have become. The m/v Dali is (presuming it's returned to service and not broken up) is only a medium sized vessel - and consider the damage, disruption, and fatalities it has caused.

A final note, watercraft have traditionally been referred to in the feminine gender, but this one-time Fairfield Navy cadet personally cannot muster the thought to think of these vessels (trust my avoidance of the term "ship" is noted) as anything other than "it", or neuter.