Demolition at Baltimore bridge collapse site
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Published 2024-05-13
The demolition occurred shortly after 5 p.m.
Crews have been preparing for weeks to use explosives to break down the span, which is an estimated 500 feet (152 meters) long and weighs up to 600 tons (544 metric tons).
It landed on the ship’s bow after the Dali lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns shortly after leaving Baltimore. Since then, the ship has been stuck amidst the wreckage and Baltimore’s busy port has been closed to most maritime traffic.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and other leaders including U.S. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott held a press conference Monday saying work to get the port back open is on track.
"We are now very close to fully clearing the channel. And we are already getting large ships in and out of the Port of Baltimore. Over the next week we are expecting about 30 vessels and barges at the Port’s public and private terminals."
Six members of a roadwork crew plunged to their deaths in the March 26 collapse. The last of their bodies was recovered from the underwater wreckage last week. All the victims were Latino immigrants who came to the U.S. for job opportunities. They were filling potholes on an overnight shift when the bridge was destroyed.
The controlled demolition will allow the Dali to be refloated and guided back into the Port of Baltimore. Once the ship is removed, maritime traffic can begin returning to normal, which will provide relief for thousands of longshoremen, truckers and small business owners who have seen their jobs impacted by the closure.
FULL STORY: www.wusa9.com/article/news/special-reports/baltimo…
All Comments (21)
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The fact that the actual demolition looked so close to the renderings is a testament to the engineers and to the experts who placed those explosives and did those cuts.
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I've watched all the video of the blast presented, you are the only one that made a presention that was knowledgeable of what was going on and why. Extremely professional, thank you for your good work Mr. Scott Broom.
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The demolition charges used are Linear Shape Charge (LSC). These types of charges cut the steel like a knife with a directed concentrated force of a high-speed jet.
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I work in film special effects. An average director might have asked for a big fireball too, but this was not lacking anything on the visual side. Yes, I'd say the guys did a perfect job, my highest respect, but let's not fool ourselves...these professionals love a great visual kaboom as much as anybody else.
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That ship crashed into the bridge on March 26th - and it is still there. That's a pretty good indication of how catastrophic a situation it was.
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Outstanding Coverage! Made it about the demolition and the Dali crew not the media reporting the facts!
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The journalist covering this demolition did a masterful job of explaining important aspects of the event and some of the background considerations going into it. A refreshing change from what is often presented in these types of coverages.
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The bridge decking and pavement probably weigh more than the superstructure that was just blasted off the ship.
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They didn’t give their lives… their lives were taken from them.
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I was pleasantly surprised when the on-scene reporter said he was standing away from the camera so as to not block the view. Not only that, but you back at the station didn't do what seems to be a perpetual news station thing and that is having the opaque text box telling us what is happening. Of course doing so then blocks whatever the videographer is trying to show us all. So thank you for the old-time news broadcast.
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To those that had stuff in those shipping containers...your shipment has been "delayed".
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Great skills to the Engineers involved in the demolition and professional reporting by all at WUSA 9. Thank you John, Auckland, New Zealand.
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Thanks for the coverage!
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Another reason for crew on the ship as least some times is under maritime law, Ship abandonment is defined as an event where the ship owner has ceased communicating with their ship for more than eight weeks. So as long as it sits in the water and can communicate from time to time with the owners, the ship and all the cargo (to be delivered if possible) is theirs. Leaving under orders from the Coast Guard or in other situations can complicate it. But in general, their presence ensure no one can try to file a salvage claim ever on the ship or cargo (though I suspect any such claim would fail).
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I'd been looking forward to seeing this and I wasn't disappointed. Every aspect of the channel clearing so far has apparently been done with a great deal of skill and some real courage on the part of some of the people that have accomplished this. I expected that there would be some serious injuries or deaths of the workers directly involved. Maybe the most skillful part of all this has it has been accomplished so far safely.
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Good coverage, video, and narration.
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A gigantic and equally dangerous task executed with surgical precision and perfection. Kudos to all those dynamic intelligentia and geniuses that planned, designed and accomolished with aolomb.
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This was the best coverage and reporting on this that I have seen so far. I just wish you had been a bit better prepared for the exact moment the charges went off...not on a split screen at... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Thank you for you respect for the workers who lost not given their lives on this bridge. Great comments on the thread as well! 😎
