The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed on Tuesday after a container ship collided with it, causing cars to fall into the water. This bridge is a crucial transportation link for the East Coast of the United States and serves as the gateway to the Port of Baltimore.
The four-lane steel Francis Scott Key Bridge, completed in 1977 after five years of construction, stretches 1.6 miles (2.6 km). It traverses the Patapsco River, where Francis Scott Key wrote the “Star Spangled Banner” in 1814 after the Battle of Baltimore. The bridge stands 185 feet (56 meters) tall, offering ample vertical clearance.
Constructed at an approximate cost of $110 million, the Francis Scott Key Bridge provided additional traffic lanes and required lower operating and maintenance expenses compared to a tunnel.
The Maryland Transportation Authority reports that the Francis Scott Key Bridge carries 11.3 million vehicles annually on the I-695 highway, also known as the Baltimore Beltway, which encircles Baltimore.
Additional structures along the route include a dual-span drawbridge spanning 0.64 miles over Curtis Creek and two parallel bridge structures spanning 0.74 miles each, which carry traffic over Bear Creek near the Bethlehem Steel Sparrows Point plant.
The Maryland Transportation Authority issued a “major traffic alert” following the incident and rerouted vehicles to the I-95 or I-895 highways. Trucks are not allowed to use the I-95 tunnel route that passes under the Baltimore harbor.
The collapse of the bridge has led to a halt in ship departures from the Port of Baltimore, according to shipping and insurance sources. As a result, more than 40 ships, including small cargo ships, tugboats, and pleasure craft, were reported to be stranded inside the Baltimore port. Additionally, data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic indicated that at least 30 other ships had indicated Baltimore port as their destination.
