At collapsed Baltimore bridge, focus shifts to the weighty job of removing the massive structure

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BALTIMORE, March 30, (AP): Teams of engineers are now focused on the formidable job of hauling the shattered remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge out of Maryland’s Patapsco River, the first step toward reopening the Port of Baltimore and recovering the bodies of four workers who are still missing and presumed dead.
A massive cargo go ship felled the span Tuesday after striking one of its main supports. Experts are trying to figure out how to “break that bridge up into the right-sized pieces that we can lift,” U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm Shannon Gilreath said Friday at a news conference.
The tools that are needed have been coming into place. They include seven floating cranes – one of which is one of the largest on the Eastern Seaboard, capable of lifting 1,000 tons – 10 tugboats, nine barges, eight salvage vessels and five Coast Guard boats.
“To go out there and see it up close, you realize just how daunting a task this is,” Gov Wes Moore said Friday afternoon as the massive crane loomed behind him.
“With a salvage operation this complex – and frankly with a salvation operation this unprecedented – you need to plan for every single moment,” Moore added.
Moore surveyed the scene and saw shipping containers ripped apart “like papier-mache.” The broken pieces of the bridge, including its steel trusses, weigh as much as 4,000 tons.
The wreckage has blocked ships from entering or leaving the vital port and also stymied the search for the missing workers.
“We have to bring a sense of closure to these families,” Moore said.
Moore also spoke of the disaster’s severe economic impact, saying, “What we’re talking about today is not just about Maryland’s economy; this is about the nation’s economy. The port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in this country.”
Maryland’s Department of Transportation is already planning for rebuilding of the span and “considering innovative design, engineering and building methods so that we can quickly deliver this project,” Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld said.
Adam Ortiz, the Environmental Protection Agency’s mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator, said there was no indication in the water of active releases from the ship or materials hazardous to human health.

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