By now, most people have seen the shocking images of the devastating collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, that happened on Tuesday morning.
Indeed, it would be hard to forget the sight of the cargo ship hitting the 1.6 mile bridge, with the bridge almost instantly crumbling on impact into the Patapsco River.
What caused the cargo ship to ram into the bridge or what was faulty in the construction of the bridge to make it collapse so readily has not yet been discovered.
However, as many users on the social media platform X have noted, the ramifications of this disaster will be devastating for Baltimore’s infrastructure.
User Matt Bracken was among the first to point this out.
This is a MAJOR infrastructure hit.
The Port of Baltimore is the major port serving Baltimore and Washington DC. All of the shipping north of the bridge is now trapped in place. No other shipping can get in. The tunnel shown has height and hazardous cargo restrictions, it can’t… pic.twitter.com/igVpYJcaEn— Matt Bracken (@Matt_Bracken48) March 26, 2024
Sharing a map of the port of Baltimore, circling the location of the bridge, as well as the other main highways, Bracken noted, “All of the shipping north of the bridge is now trapped in place. No other shipping can get in. The tunnel shown has height and hazardous cargo restrictions, it can’t take the heavy trucking traffic that used the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which took YEARS to build back in the 1970s.”
Considering that the Port of Baltimore is the main port for both Baltimore and Washington, D.C., this accident, as Bracken said, was a “MAJOR infrastructure hit.”
Should extra security be implemented at major bridges around the country?
Other users shared Bracken’s original post, with combat correspondent Michael Yon calling it an “Economic Nuke Strike” and history professor and Maritime historian Sal Mercogliano, pointing out, “This closes the port of Baltimore and shuts down any traffic into or out of it.”
Economic Nuke Strike https://t.co/x12AXD9nir
— Michael Yon: Callsign BIG HONEY 6 (@Michael_Yon) March 26, 2024
Just examining the data on MV #Dali that hit and collapsed the #Keybridge outside or Baltimore.
This closes the port of Baltimore and shuts down any traffic into or out of it. pic.twitter.com/LykHkrbzK2
— Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) 🚢⚓🐪🚒🏴☠️ (@mercoglianos) March 26, 2024
Now, the greatest tragedy of this disaster was, of course, the loss of human life.
As CNN reported, at least six people who were part of a construction crew working on the bridge are still missing and five vehicles have been seen underwater using sonar technolgy, three of which are thought to be passenger vehicles.
Two members of the construction crew were rescued from the water. One was uninjured, and one was taken to a trauma center in “very serious condition.”
But, the good folks of X were right to point out the economic ramifications this collapse of essential infrastructure will have for Baltimore and the surrounding area.
As one user explained, “It will be near impossible to quickly clear out debris to keep the harbor working.”
UPDATED. Aerial view of the Baltimore Harbor and Francis Scott Key Bridge. It will be near impossible to quickly clear out debris to keep the harbor working. pic.twitter.com/ZZ15N7uogU
— COL (Ret) Jeff in 🇦🇹 (@JeffFisch) March 26, 2024
Not to mention that the entire harbor was the second busiest in the mid-Atlantic — and now, thanks to this accident, it has been rendered completely inaccessible.
To say nothing of the enormous traffic problems now created by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Were the conspiracy theorists on X and elsewhere on to something when they suggested that this was perhaps a deliberate act of sabotage on the part of China or another U.S. adversary?
As of right now, probably not.
If someone were to plan an attack on our infrastructure, however, it very well might have looked like what we saw on Tuesday morning in Baltimore.
