Source: CCTV news client
The collapse of the "Francis Scott Key" bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, has aroused great concern from all walks of life. In addition to the human casualties, as an important hub of Interstate 695 and the gateway to the Port of Baltimore, the impact of the bridge collapse on logistics, supply chains, and possible economic losses cannot be ignored.
Why the bridge collapsed
△ In the early morning of the 26th, a container ship crashed into the bridge.
In the early morning of the 26th, a Singaporean-flagged container ship lost power after leaving the Port of Baltimore and crashed into the bridge, causing it to collapse, and 8 construction workers on the bridge fell into the water, 2 of whom were rescued. Six missing persons are presumed dead, and the remains of two missing persons have been recovered.
The ship's voyage data records have been sent to the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States. Homendi, the chairman of the committee, said investigators would try to determine through analysis how the vessel lost power.
At the same time, the collapse of the 47-year-old bridge after the impact has raised questions about its structure. The New York Times reported that some structural engineers said the container ship had struck a pier at a key part of the bridge's structural support, but the piers appeared to lack a protective barrier. If there had been a device around the pier to block and divert the collision, perhaps the tragedy could have been avoided.
Homendi said the protective structure would be part of the investigation into the collapse of the bridge. The committee will investigate how the bridge was constructed, examine the structure of the bridge, and analyse whether there should be improvements in terms of safety.
Benjamin Schaefer, a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, pointed out that while the collapse of the bridge was not due to severe age, the size of ships has increased significantly since the bridge was built in the 70s to today, and the rules and procedures for entering and exiting the port should be adjusted accordingly.
How much economic losses are made
The Francis Scott Kee Bridge is about 2.6 kilometers long and has an annual traffic capacity of about 11.5 million vehicles, more than 30,000 vehicles per day. After the collapse of the bridge, maritime traffic around the Port of Baltimore came to a standstill, and the Port of Baltimore was closed, preventing ships stranded in the harbor from leaving the port and many ships in transit unable to enter the port.
Although the Port of Baltimore is far less large than large ports such as New York on the East Coast and Long Beach in California on the West Coast, it plays an important role in the import of automotive products and is the largest port for automobiles in the United States, and this accident is bound to have an impact on the supply chain. According to the Port of Maryland Authority, the port handled at least 800,000 vehicles and light trucks in 2023.
Abbey Eshknazi, head of the Supply Chain Management Association of the United States, said some automakers would have to move to other ports on the East Coast in New York, New Jersey or Virginia, which could cause transportation costs to rise.
△ On March 28, a barricade was erected at the entrance to the "Francis Scott Key" bridge.
In addition, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Port of Baltimore, known for transporting coal, sugar, and specialized equipment such as tractors and cranes, could cause "months of chaos" for shipping on the East Coast.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said on the 27th that the value of goods entering and leaving the port every day is more than $100 million, and the closure of the port will directly affect 8,000 jobs. Maryland Governor Wes Moore said in an interview with the media that the livelihoods of more than 140,000 people will be indirectly affected.
According to IMPLAN, an economic analysis firm, a one-month closure of the Port of Baltimore would cost Maryland $28 million.
When the bridge will be rebuilt
△On October 14, 2021 local time, a cargo ship passed under the "Francis Scott Key" bridge.
The bridge was originally built over a five-year period, and it is difficult to predict how long it will take to rebuild, and there is no timetable for when it will be able to reopen.
U.S. President Joe Biden intends for the federal government to pay for the full cost of rebuilding the bridge and wants congressional support. Federal officials said that rebuilding the bridge could cost $2 billion, although this is only a very preliminary estimate, according to the US media Roll Call, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Buttigieg said about $950 million in emergency relief funds are available from the Biden administration's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, but he did not confirm how much money could be used to rebuild the Baltimore disaster.
Even if the funds are in place, the pace of infrastructure construction in the United States is not optimistic. Jean Paul Rodrigo, a professor of maritime business administration at Texas A&M University, believes that it will take at least three to five years to rebuild the bridge, given the extent of the damage. Johns Hopkins University's Schaefer believes that such large-scale infrastructure projects rarely take less than 10 years.
(Source: CCTV News Client)