Following the collapse of a major bridge in the US city of Baltimore, officials have announced the opening of a temporary alternate path for ships.
Shipments into and out of one of the busiest ports in the nation were halted last Tuesday when the Dali cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, resulting in the deaths of six persons.
Debris removal from the water is being worked on in the interim. Baltimore Bridge
On Saturday, a 200-ton section of the bridge was taken out.
Debris from the bridge has been chopped into smaller pieces by those working on the cleanup so it can be removed and dumped somewhere.
To assist in removing debris from the bridge, cranes have been constructed on the property. This includes the biggest crane on the east coast of the United States, the Chesapeake 1000.
In response to the tragedy, port officials are getting ready to open a temporary route for “commercially essential vessels” to the northeast of the main channel near the collapsed bridge. This information comes from a statement released by the Key Bridge Response Group.
A “phased approach to opening the main channel” will include this.
The response’s co-ordinator, Capt. David O’Connell, stated that the alternate path “will mark an important first step along the road to reopening the port of Baltimore.”
“By opening this alternate route, we will support the flow of marine traffic,” he stated.
A safety zone of 2,000 yards (1,828 meters) currently surrounds the wreckage, prohibiting any vessel or person from entering without authorization from port authorities.
Officials estimate that between 80 and 90 percent of the bridge wreckage is underwater at the moment.
The Port of Baltimore is an important hub for US and international trade imports and exports, as well as a major economic engine for the state of Maryland.
According to experts, the bridge’s reconstruction might take years, and a month before it reopens. Investigations into the incident from last week are expected to take years.
Last Monday, the US government granted $60 (£47 million) in initial emergency funding that Maryland had asked.
The container ship Dali, almost twice as long as the Eiffel Tower, stays in the ocean. The ship’s 22-person crew, who are all citizens of India, are supposedly still on board and unharmed.
They are unknown, and it is not apparent when they will be on the ship that has become stranded.
Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, had earlier stated that because “3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of steel… sitting on that ship,” every step of the recovery and salvage effort would be challenging.
An further challenge to the recovery has been the volume of debris in the Patapsco River’s murky waters. It has been impossible for divers to see farther than a foot or two ahead of them.
The Dali cargo ship swerved into one of the columns of the Key Bridge, pushing the majority of the structure into the ocean while eight construction workers were patching potholes.
Two were saved, and two more people’s bodies have been found. Because of the difficulties caused by the bridge debris, the search for the four people who are still missing—who are thought to be dead—has been suspended.
Continuous sonar scanning is being done to look for cars, human remains, and debris that might come loose underwater.
BY- HHM