The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26 sent shockwaves through the city and beyond, leaving six individuals still missing amidst the rubble.
This tragic event unfolded when the Singapore-flagged container ship, the Dali, deviated from its course, striking one of the bridge's supports, or piers, and triggering a catastrophic progressive collapse.
The 366-meter-long (1,200 ft) bridge, recognized as the world's third-largest continuous truss bridge, succumbed to the force of the collision, plummeting into the Patapsco River at 1:28 am Eastern Standard Time (5:28 UTC). The sudden collapse raised questions about how one ship could cause such extensive damage to a massive structure within seconds of impact.
A progressive collapse occurs when the failure of a single component, in this case, the pier, leads to the sequential failure of interconnected elements such as the metallic truss and the bridge's deck. While bridges are typically engineered to withstand some level of damage, the design of the Francis Scott Key Bridge featured a continuous truss system with interconnected supports.
The collapse of one pier effectively doubled the truss span to the next support, exerting a significantly larger force on the remaining truss structure. Despite the inherent resilience of continuous truss systems, the remaining elements couldn't withstand the added stress, resulting in the complete collapse of the affected section.
This cascading failure didn't stop there; the interconnected nature of the trusses caused the remaining section to be pulled upwards before ultimately collapsing.
While collisions between ships and bridge supports are rare events, they can have devastating consequences, as seen in similar incidents such as the 1980 collapse of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay, Florida.
The impact forces exerted on bridge supports vary depending on factors such as vessel speed, size, and traffic density. However, current methods for calculating collision forces may not fully account for modern vessels' capabilities, like the Dali, which was likely beyond the Key Bridge's design parameters when it opened in 1977.
While investigations into the Key Bridge collapse are ongoing, questions have arisen about the effectiveness of protective measures and the sufficiency of maintenance practices. Regular structural assessments and retrofits are crucial to ensure bridges meet current safety standards and withstand the challenges posed by environmental factors.
As authorities continue to investigate this tragic event, the findings will undoubtedly inform future approaches to bridge design and protection, emphasizing the importance of proactive measures to prevent similar disasters in the future.
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