By Serkan Gurbuz and Jeffrey Collins -
The Associated Press
BALTIMORE — Teams of engineers worked Saturday on the intricate process of cutting and lifting the first section of the steel remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed over the Patapsco River this week after a massive freighter hit one of its bridges. columns.
Sparks could be seen flying from a section of bent and corrugated steel in the afternoon, and video released by authorities showed demolition crews using blowtorches to cut through the thick beams. The joint incident command said in a statement that work was underway on the top of the north side of the collapsed structure.
[Baltimore port workers face uncertain future after bridge collapse]
Crews were carefully measuring and cutting the steel from the collapsed bridge and then attaching straps so it can be lifted onto a barge and then removed, US Coast Guard Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said Saturday.
Seven floating cranes, including a huge one capable of lifting 1,000 tons, ten tugboats, nine barges, eight salvage vessels and five Coast Guard boats were in the water southeast of Baltimore.
They collect debris from the Francis Scott Key Bridge.Scott Olson / Getty Images
Each move affects what happens next and ultimately how long it will take to remove all the debris and reopen the shipping channel and the blocked Baltimore Harbor, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said. “I can't stress enough how important today is and the first movement on this bridge and the debris. “It will be an extraordinarily complicated process,” Moore said.
Unfazed by the morning cold, Randy Lichtenberg, a long-time Baltimore resident, took photos with his cell phone along with others, some just staring in silence at the broken pieces of the bridge that, including its steel beams, weigh as much as 4,000 tons.
[Largest crane on the East Coast removes debris from the Baltimore bridge to clean the canal and recover the bodies]
“I wouldn't want to be in the water. It must be freezing. It's hard work,” Lichtenberg said from a spot on the river known as Sparrows Point.
The shock of waking up Tuesday morning to a video of what you considered an iconic part of the Baltimore skyline falling into the water has already given way to sadness.
“It never hits you that fast. “It’s amazing,” Lichtenberg said.
What happens now
One of the first goals of the teams on the river is to be able to open a smaller auxiliary channel so that the tugboats can move freely. In addition to stabilizing the area so that divers can resume the search for the four Latino workers who are presumed dead.
Two were rescued alive from the water in the hours following the bridge collapse, and the bodies of two others were recovered from a truck that fell and was submerged in the river. They had been filling potholes on the bridge and, although police were able to stop traffic after the ship gave the mayday signal, they were unable to reach the construction workers, originally from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
The crew of the freighter Dali, managed by Synergy Marine Group, remains on board with debris from the bridge around them. They are safe and are being questioned. They keep the boat on, which will have to move out of the canal when more debris is removed. The vessel is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and was chartered by Danish shipping giant Maersk.
The collision and bridge collapse appears to be an accident after the ship shut down. Federal investigators are still trying to determine why.
[Wife of a worker assures that it was “a miracle that he survived” the bridge collapse in Baltimore: “He doesn't know how to swim”]
Calming concerns about possible contamination caused by the crash, Adam Ortiz, Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator for the Mid-Atlantic, said there is no indication in the water of active leaks from the ship or of materials hazardous to health.
Rebuild
Officials are also trying to figure out how to handle the economic impact of the port closure and the disruption of an important highway link. The bridge was built in 1977 and linked Interstate 695 to southeast Baltimore.
Maryland transportation officials plan to rebuild the bridge, promising to consider innovative designs or materials in hopes of shortening a project that could take years.
President Joe Biden's administration has approved $60 million in immediate aid and promised that the government will cover the full cost of reconstruction.
Marine traffic to the Port of Baltimore remains suspended, but the Maryland Ports Administration said trucks are still being processed at marine terminals.
The loss of a highway that used to cross 30,000 vehicles a day and the disruption of the port will affect not only thousands of port workers and travelers, but also consumers in the United States who will likely feel the impact on shipping images. More cars and farm machinery pass through the port than any other in the country.