Baltimore Bridge Collapse Preventable

On March 26, 2024, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the Baltimore Harbor was struck by a massive container ship Dali. Jeff OStroff walks you through all phases of this fateful collision and the resulting total collapse of the Key Bridge, offering you step by step walkthrough of security camera videos that captured this engineering disaster. You'll also see possible bridge design deficiencies, as well as past deficiencies on the Dali ship, and what could have prevented this catastrophe.

[gerardhunt]

One must remember that when the bridge was built cargo ships weren't as big as the dali

[btbb]

Captain obvious meets Captain Hindsight

[Jason-rnjk]

YouTuber architectural engineers at their finest. With degrees such as “how it’s made” and “this old house” reruns. Absolutely breathtaking.

[vipertwenty]

Achilles tendon??? it's Achilles Heel. It's from ancient Greek mythology. Look it up on wiki and you'll learn stuff. The achilles tendon is an anatomical reference to that, but if you're refering to a weak spot it's always Achilles Heel.

[shanekuchler]

Any boat no boat ever did. There was nothing wrong with that bridge at any point in time. And there was nothing wrong with it the other night during the collapse

[johntankson]

Maybe the Ports of entry should have tug boats escorting these big ships to open waters. In case a mishap occurs. The owners of the ships should also pay their part. This shouldn't ever happen again.

[stuartlee]

The Newark Bay Bridge of the N.J. Turnpike Extension is the exact same bridge. Even built by the same company!

[lawrencekiel-sr]

Ship deflection at bridges today is non-existent or inadequate. Bridges are carrying more weight in trucks and cars. Electric cars are heavier. Trucks and trailers carried in the 1960s half the payloads as today's trucks Tug boats should stay with the ships until ships are clear of any navigation obstacles.

[iXplainIT]

We had a similar incident here in Australia in 1975. The Tasman bridge in Tasmania got hit by a cargo ship killing 12 people and splitting the city of Hobart in half. I never knew about the concrete dolphins and I’m checking all the big bridges in Australia to see if they have them

[rudygarcia]

The bridge connecting South Padre Island to Port Isabel, TX was hit by barge 20yrs ago. Many died. It was rebuilt with bumpers at the pillars to where the bridge won't be hit by passing barges.

[tonyleach]

My uncle was one of the lead engineers on that bridge build and I’d ride out there with him on the weekends because that’s how seriously he took his job.Ill never forget him saying to me that a dollar saved today will cost you dearly later, he was talking about the lack of protection for the support columns!

[mikemecklenborg]

Most bridges I have seen have barriers around them to prevent boats from getting near them.

[raymonddoran]

No buffering at all to protect structure

[georgiannacook]

😮I appreciate Jeff Ostroff''s commentary on structural issues. Learn quite a bit even though one is not a structural engineer thank you

[Cha-y]

What about making it law that tug boats must guide these huge ship in and out to sea.

[mariodelauro]

The main bridge supports Shoulda been protected with large concrete abutments, especially with a lot of barge traffic, major oversight in my opinion

[Harrison]

The power poles next to the bridge were protected with concrete abutments but not the bridge

[subbasslines]

Curious what kind of design could handle a ship like that crashing into it?
Who would of thought something like this would happen 🤔

[abkkaaronkauflin]

This happened in Florida in the 1980s with a similarly built bridge. I honestly don't understand how nobody thought to put crash piers along the superstructure especially in a heavily trafficed channel.

[ejcastro]

A lot of infrastructure in the USA was built long before safety regulations were strengthened to include certain safeguards now expected. But to upgrade infrastructure cost money people don't want to pay whether in taxes or time. In California the Loma Prieta earthquake brought tougher regulations that to this day are not completely implemented statewide. Overpasses and bridges are still being upgraded. But how often do you even think that all those bridges/overpasses you drive on or under could possibly collapse? Outrage only happens after the fact.