Francis Scott Key Bridge

Every once in a while, you wake up in the morning, check your phone, and something unexpected has happened.  That was the feeling of everyone in the city of Baltimore, and those in the logistics industry earlier this week.  In case you’re out of the loop, a boat carrying freight cargo crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge, completely destroying it and sending cars driving on it plunging into the water below.  At the time of writing this, six people are presumed dead, with two bodies being recovered from the river. 

Of course, this is an absolute tragedy, and our thoughts are with everyone involved.  It also goes to show how a simple mistake can have such a large ripple effect.  The crash was caught on video.  In it, you can see the ship having issues with electricity, as it powers down and back up again multiple times over a period of about one minute.  About halfway through the video, it’s easy to see that it’s too late.  The crash was inevitable at that point. 

The logistical implications of this crash cannot be accurately measured at this point in time.  When asked about the issue, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said: “There will be a time to discuss a bridge and how we get a bridge back up, but right now there are people in the water that we have to get out, and that is the only thing we should be talking about.”  When speculating, commenters have estimated that it will be years before everything is operating the way it was. 

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Works Cited: Baltimore Key Bridge collapse latest news and what we know (nbcnews.com)