Biden pledges support for Baltimore in wake of Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: ABC News

March 26, 2024, 12:52 PM


President Joe Biden gave remarks Tuesday on the Baltimore bridge collapse, telling residents "we're going to stay with you as long as it takes."

"It's my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstruction in that bridge. I expect the Congress to support my effort," Biden said from the White House.

"This is going to take some time," the president said, adding, "We're not leaving until this job gets done."

Personnel on the ship alerted the Maryland Department of Transportation that they lost control of the vessel, and local authorities were able to close the bridge before it was struck, "which undoubtedly saved lives," Biden told reporters.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-remarks-francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse-baltimore-harbor/story?id=108510121

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[pfitz59]

1. Fast action save lives

Shows how fragile even the largest structures can be.

[BlueKota]

2. So sad for all the families with loved ones missing

[brush]

3. It was reported that no tugboats escorted the ship out...

What is that about? Tugs could've stopped the ship, which lost power, from ramming into the bridge.

An investigation is in order.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Unless it is a barge

the tugs aren't usually out there escorting those types of ocean-going container ships.

I know here in Philly where we have the Port of Philadelphia and ships going up and down the Delaware River to the various piers (I worked near there and had an office with a view of the ships traversing the river), the only tugs out there were for barges or for something that is about to dock at a pier.

[brush]

5. Thanks. I guess a ship losing power and drifting is petty unusual.

Last edited Tue Mar 26, 2024, 04:03 PM - Edit history (1)

[BumRushDaShow]

7. IIRC

and I am sure we have a number of Navy, Coasties, or other water navigators on DU, I was told by my Coastie former co-worker while Sea-dooing on the OH River (yes I did Sea-doo in that river, getting there via a tributary located in Indiana that exited to the river ) that we were to "idle" while going under any bridge - basically drift with the original momentum as you pass under it. So I am guessing any powered ship would need to do that and since it's possible they were preparing to or had backed off the engines to do that, the engine might have stalled and they couldn't restart.

[brush]

8. Ahhhh. Ok. What's the reason for cutting power when passing under a bridge?

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Probably to avoid creating extra turbulence

or even hitting something with a sudden engine thrust. Plus the current will be different when the water is "squeezed" through pylons/bridge struts.

ETA - it's like a waterway "rule of the road" (river).

There were a couple pedestrian bridges that went over that tributary and each had little signs on them that said something like "Please idle" (or whatever warning wording was used) before you drifted under the bridge.

[Deep State Witch]

11. NTSB is on the job

According to the press conference with Gov. Moore and Sec. Buttigieg.

[IronLionZion]

6. GOP response will be for them to pull themselves up by the bootstraps

Trump can toss them a roll of paper towels.

This impacts shipping and driving infrastructure. Tons of cargo use the Baltimore port, tons of people use the bridge every day.

[Deep State Witch]

10. TFG

Probably would have withheld funding because Maryland is a blue state.

[Cha]

12. TY & Pres Biden!

[NowsTheTime]

13. Why pledge the US gov't to pay for this? At least say insurance should hjelp re-emburse us.nt

[BumRushDaShow]

14. I-695 is a federal interstate highway and is maintained by the federal government (along with the state)

But as I also understand from various articles, the impetus is to get the work started NOW knowing that it will probably take years to settle the insurance claims for reimbursement.

[NowsTheTime]

15. I understand, but I felt it should be stated about insurance as well.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. Well we had that well-publicized tanker truck accident that took out part of I-95 here in Philly

and although obviously not to the same scale as a portion of a large bridge (here it was a significant part of a 10-lane highway and overpass), I found this about the company that owned the truck involved in the tragedy here (the driver was killed in the accident) -

New Jersey tanker truck company involved in I-95 collapse had a fiery crash nearby 8 years earlier

A driver working for TK Transport, the firm linked to Sunday’s accident, was involved in a similar wreck in 2015.

by Ryan W. Briggs and Jason Laughlin
Updated Jun. 14, 2023, 10:54 a.m. ET | Published Jun. 13, 2023, 2:01 p.m. ET


(snip)

The condition of the tanker truck and whether it was well maintained would be key questions in such a suit, Mongeluzzi said. Tractor trailers have the equivalent of an airplane’s black box in them to record the details of trips, and data gathered from that device will be critical to an investigation. Whether that device survived the fire any better than the highway bridge, though, is uncertain.

“The problem, and I’ve had this because I’ve handled a multitude of fire cases, [is] they can be incinerated,” Mongeluzzi said.

A company of TK Transport’s size, the lawyer said, likely has liability insurance with a cap around $10 million, which pales compared with the costs of highway reconstruction or lost revenue and added costs for businesses and commuters.

“You’re talking about literally billions of dollars,” he said. “There is no way that a TK Transport could possibly have the insurance coverage for the assets to pay for that.”

(snip)

https://www.inquirer.com/news/tk-transport-i95-closing-accident-history-moody-20230613.html

I expect this will be the same issue for the owner of that vessel multiplied by many billions due to the infrastructure costs alone and loss of commerce, including from the clearing of the debris, and more significantly, the closure of the port, with redirection of both ships and other vehicles. They won't have enough insurance to cover that.

I-695 is Baltimore's "beltway" so it was heavily used.

[NowsTheTime]

17. We need future "regulations" to mitigate this....OMG a maga evil word!

[BumRushDaShow]

18. LOL

I saw an article this morning where the it was estimated that because of this, the Port of Baltimore would be losing upwards of $9 million per day of commerce.

Also heard a local news story this morning about how some mitigation construction had already been underway for one of our bridges over the Delaware River here in Philly - https://www.audacy.com/kywnewsradio/news/local/del-memorial-bridge-barriers-absorb-crashes-baltimore-cargo-ship-collapse

[maxsolomon]

19. That's what Presidents are supposed to do.

I question whether rebuilding this bridge is the best idea, however. It just doesn't look essential. It looks like a relic of a freeways-solve-everything era, and the hazard from the Port will remain.