Achi news desk-
Engineer teams are working on the complex process of cutting and lifting the first section of twisted steel from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland.
The bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River last week after a huge freighter crashed into one of its main supports.
Crews carefully measure and cut the steel from the broken bridge before attaching straps so it can be lifted onto a barge and floated away, said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath.
Seven floating cranes — including one massive one capable of lifting 1,000 tons — 10 tugboats, nine barges, eight rescue vessels and five Coast Guard boats are on site in waters southeast of Baltimore.
Each movement affects what happens next and ultimately how long it will take to remove all the debris and reopen the ship channel and Baltimore’s blocked harbor, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.
“I can’t stress enough how important today and the first movement of this bridge and the wreckage is. It’s going to be an incredibly complicated process,” Moore said.
Undeterred by the chilly morning weather, longtime Baltimore resident Randy Lichtenberg and others took cellphone photos or just quietly looked at the broken parts of the bridge, which includes its steel trusses, weighing up to 4,000 tons.
“I wouldn’t want to be in that water. It must be cold. It’s hard work,” Lichtenberg said from a point on the river called Sparrows Point.
The shock of waking up Tuesday morning to video of what he called an iconic part of Baltimore’s skyline falling into the water gave way to sadness.
“It never hits you that fast. It’s just unbelievable,” Lichtenberg said.
One of the first goals of the crews on the water is to open a smaller auxiliary channel so that tugboats and other small barges can move freely. Crews also want to stabilize the site so divers can continue searching for four missing workers who are presumed dead.
Two workers were rescued from the water in the hours after the bridge collapsed early Tuesday, and the bodies of two others were recovered from a van that fell and sank into the river. They filled potholes in the bridge and while the police were able to stop vehicular traffic after the ship called May, they were unable to reach the construction crew who were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
The crew of the Daly freighter, operated by Synergy Marine Group, remained on board with the debris from the bridge surrounding it. They are safe and interviewable. They are keeping the ship running as they will have to take it out of the channel once more debris has been removed. The vessel is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd and chartered by Danish shipping giant Maersk.
The collision and collapse appeared to be an accident that occurred after the ship lost power. Federal and state investigators are still trying to determine why.
Allaying concerns about possible contamination from the crash, Adam Ortiz, the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional director, said there was no indication in the water of an active release from the ship or substances hazardous to human health.
Officials are also trying to figure out how to deal with the economic impact of a closed port and severed highway link. The bridge was completed in 1977 and carried Interstate 695 across Southeast Baltimore.
Maryland transportation officials plan to rebuild the bridge, promising to consider innovative designs or building materials to hopefully shorten a project that could take years.
President Joe Biden’s administration approved $60 million in immediate aid and promised the federal government would pay the full cost of rebuilding.
Ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore remains shut down, but the Maryland Port Authority said trucks are still being processed at a marine terminal.
The loss of the road that carried 30,000 vehicles a day and the disruption at the port will affect not only thousands of dock workers and passengers, but also American consumers, who are expected to feel the impact of delays in shipments.
“The port handles more cars and more agricultural equipment than any other facility in the US.
