Authorities are preparing a temporary alternate route near Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge to allow “commercially essential vessels” to reach the city’s port.
Following the catastrophic collapse of the bridge caused by a collision with a large cargo ship last week, debris has jammed a critical trade route to the port. Concerns have been raised about the disaster’s enormous impact on the local and national economies.
On Sunday, the unified command, which includes federal and state agencies as well as disaster management consultants, announced the temporary channel. This project seeks to prevent a disaster at one of the nation’s busiest ports.
Captain David O’Connell of the Coast Guard, serving as the federal on-scene coordinator for the bridge collapse response, emphasized the significance of this temporary channel in the process of reopening the port of Baltimore.
City officials have disclosed that the temporary shipping channel will be positioned northeast of the main artery, near the site of the collapsed bridge. They have stated that it will be part of a phased approach towards reopening the main channel.
According to Olinda Romero, a representative of the US Coast Guard working with the unified command team, the channel is currently being utilized by vessels collaborating with first responders to clear the wreckage. It is unclear when non-essential commercial vessels will be able to use this other route.
Officials confirmed that the temporary channel has a controlling depth of 11 feet, a horizontal clearance of 264 feet, and a vertical clearance of 96 feet. While it can accept a Coast Guard cutter ship, it is too small to allow bigger commercial vessels through.
The Dali, a Singapore-registered ship that collided with the bridge last week, was 984 feet long, far too enormous to fit via the other route, and many other cargo vessels are even larger.
The Port of Baltimore is the tenth largest port in the United States by total commerce volume. It is a major transportation hub for automobiles, light trucks, coal, agricultural equipment, construction machinery, and other items. Except for one port pier, the Key Bridge collapse has seriously hampered access to all of them.
During a recent briefing, US Representative David Trone of Maryland highlighted the expected economic impact of the disruption, which may cost up to $15 million.
A resident of Maryland shared his experience of being one of the last individuals to cross the Francis Scott Key Bridge before its collapse. He recounted driving over the bridge early Tuesday morning en route to work at a bakery in Dundalk, a Baltimore county town.
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