Francis Scott Key bridge, Baltimore, MD

[Skookum]

Like the reporter throwing his hands up in frustration because Buttigieg couldn’t tell him exactly how long it would take to open the ship channel or how much a new bridge will cost. The largest crane on the East coast is underway for Baltimore. It can lift 1000 tons, meaning those sections of the bridge will have to be cut into manageable pieces. None of that is going to happen in a hurry.

If we only left this stuff up to the armchair Disaster Recovery experts and pundits, it would get resolved immediately, no mistakes, just by using common sense. Not to mention cheaper/faster than the best estimate, guaranteed!

 

[SeilerBird]

If they get the bridge opened up in a year it will be shocking.

 

[Onyrlef]

NTSB says the black box has no CCTV footage and they can't make out the audio due to background noise.
Sounds legit.

The advantage in throwing bs against the wall to see if any of it sticks is you never run out of bs, you just make some more up.

 

[LarsMac]

Once I used 13 and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel I stuck with that route. Much prettier, a little longer but not much traffic.

When we lived in Florida, that was part of our favorite route to Maine.

 

[Oldgator73]

The advantage in throwing bs against the wall to see if any of it sticks is you never run out of bs, you just make some more up.

Probably run out of walls before bs.

 

[Ray-IN]

If they get the bridge opened up in a year it will be shocking.

My EWAG is 3 years, including all the new permitting, including environmental and ecological. Add another year if RR tracks are included.

 

[Excalibur]

My EWAG is 3 years, including all the new permitting, including environmental and ecological. Add another year if RR tracks are included.

I am not very familiar with Baltimore. I know the port is closed until they can clear the channel, but is the Key bridge the only way for vehicles to and from the port? I keep hearing that trucks can't go any other way in/out of the port because many of them can't use the tunnels. Just trying to sort out the BS.

 

[Rene T]

I’m guessing that it will be opened up in a couple of months. A lot of money is tied up with all the ships still in the harbor. In a couple of weeks, you’ll probably see more big cranes there with the best divers from all over the world.
Ever watch the show Underwater Salvage and see some of the humungous cranes that gets used

 

[Onyrlef]

I am not very familiar with Baltimore. I know the port is closed until they can clear the channel, but is the Key bridge the only way for vehicles to and from the port? I keep hearing that trucks can't go any other way in/out of the port because many of them can't use the tunnels. Just trying to sort out the BS.

Hazmat loads are not permitted in tunnels.

 

[Excalibur]

Hazmat loads are not permitted in tunnels.

I'm aware of that. My question is is the Key bridge the only way to and from the port for those rigs? Or are their alternate routes they can take? I 'm just trying to sort through the BS all over the media.

 

[Onyrlef]

I'm aware of that. My question is is the Key bridge the only way to and from the port for those rigs? Or are their alternate routes they can take? I 'm just trying to sort through the BS all over the media.

Have you tried looking at a map? Google map of Baltimore.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

There’s no maybe about it. In the US the harbor doesn’t make the rules, the State and the Coast Guard do. No State is going to permit either a US flagged or foreign registered ship to transit waterways inside the bar or sea buoy without a licensed pilot on board, none.

You are no doubt right, but my point was simply that the specific rules are individual to each harbor. That "sea buoy", for example, is placed where it is because the harbor authorities have determined that's where they will require a pilot to take over.

In this case it is academic because we already know from official sources that the pilot was onboard. But the pilots knowledge of local waterways and rules doesn't help much when the ship is physically out of control and unsteerable.

 

[Oldgator73]

I’m guessing that it will be opened up in a couple of months.

Maybe a couple of years.

 

[PancakeBill]

Last I heard is the port will be open within a month. I guess getting depris out of channel, number one priority. Underwater salvage is a pretty well established task. They have a huge crane on the way to Baltimore.

 

[NY_Dutch]

The biggest crane on the east coast is already there. It's capable of lifting 1,000 tons, so the initial moves will be to map the bridge and cut the steel into liftable sections. Obviously sections that still have roadbed attached will have to be cut smaller than steel only sections.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Last I heard is the port will be open within a month.

Yet another example of media conjecture based on some pseudo-expert babble. Nobody can know until the divers and crane experts get on the scene and investigate what they will have to do. And state and coast guard officials evaluate how ship traffic can be safely routed through or around the area both now and in the longer term while reconstruction takes place. It seems doubtful it could be any less than a month, but at this point any estimate has to be open-ended.

 

[Rene T]

Last I heard is the port will be open within a month. I guess getting depris out of channel, number one priority. Underwater salvage is a pretty well established task. They have a huge crane on the way to Baltimore.

Exactly. I was being generous by saying two months and the channel will be opened up for traffic.

 

[SuwanneeDave]

I wonder if the bridge pieces will be used for an artificial reef?

 

[SeilerBird]

Last I heard is the port will be open within a month. I guess getting depris out of channel, number one priority. Underwater salvage is a pretty well established task. They have a huge crane on the way to Baltimore.

The biggest problem they are facing right now is that the water has about one foot of visibility making it impossible to start doing anything until divers get enough visibility to search for the 4 missing bodies and do a search of the area. Who knows how long that will take. Everyone is just guessing and hoping. Ships have less than two feet of clearance to the bottom so everything has to be removed before the port can open.

 

[Excalibur]

Have you tried looking at a map? Google map of Baltimore.

I thought people could come here for info, not snotty. I was just asking... Sheeesh