Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore...

Optimus Prime said

One thing they said on the news yesterday answered a question I wondered

How could a bridge not be built to withstand a potential collision?

They said that it was, when it was built in the 70s

Cargo ships are so much bigger, heavier and faster than they were then

They said this ship was over 100K tons going about 8 knots

They also said that the anchor was deployed but the ship was going so fast at that point it just would have dragged along and not done anything to stop or slow the ship down

Click to expand...

It's a good question - I'm sure they will add some additional concrete dolphins/protective cells around the bridge supports when they rebuild it (and maybe create a wider span for vessel traffic) but at a certain point the physics are what they are and a strike in the right place from a 100,000 ton object moving at 8 knots is going to destroy any bridge.

But I suspect that when they built the thing they were more focused on safe load from vehicle traffic, etc., and didn't pay attention to the vessel traffic that transits below it.