TPKeller

Go back and watch the first NTSB press conference after the collapse. The Chair of the NTSB described the design of the bridge as fracture critical. That literally means that if even one load-bearing component of the bridge fails, the entire bridge will fail. This weakness was knowingly and intentionally designed into the bridge from the drawing board. The Chair went on to say that modern bridges are built with redundancy. Design played a huge role in the collapse. Obviously, if the ship had not hit it, it would still be standing, but it's simply incorrect to say that the design had "little to do" with it. I doubt we will ever know if a more robust design would have survived the allision, although I suspect the engineers will certainly play those simulations with the designs they propose to replace the bridge. I suspect that as reporters start covering the news of whatever new bridge is to come, that will be a very often asked question, "Will this bridge survive a similar impact?" If the interviewees consistently redirect those questions to talk about increased protection against future impacts, then I guess we will be able to assume the answer is "no!" Theron

An excellent point. With two bridges (three spans) blocking bigger ships, it's easy to dismiss it as too expensive, and too far into the future to justify the expense. Now that one will need to be rebuilt ASAP, and plans for the other not locked in stone, the whole thing may deserve another look! Theron

I honestly wasn't even thinking about a ROI analysis on the cost of increasing the height of the bridges. It's a cruise forum, and the fact that Baltimore is restricted to older, smaller ships due to the bridge heights is a frequent topic. Nobody knows how long the ships that will fit under the Bay Bridge will remain in the fleets of Royal Caribbean or Carnival. The trend certainly suggests there may be a day in the future when that number will be zero. So while cruises aren't a large percentage of the overall port economy, the very real question may soon be, are they willing to lose them all? Theron

It was immediately obvious that not everyone "caught" the slight addition of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in the discussion. But it was a valid addition, as noted above, since the two bridges were the same height (air draft) that restricted the size of ships that could pass beneath. As best I am aware, there has been no detailed information provided about a replacement for the Key Bridge, which just collapsed. There has been years of discussion about adding capacity to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which is what these last few posts have been about. Again, it's all relative here, because if they add spans without removing the current spans (which is the latest plan, I believe) then we will not see an increase in the size of ships that can sail from Baltimore. I snagged this picture from a news web page report, it shows the location of the two bridges we are talking about. Theron

They are deceptively similar!! Theron

🙂 Amazing bridge! According to Wiki, an 890 foot clearance. The 1,104 foot height is the top of the structure. And to be fair, this one crosses a valley that drops out in the middle, not water, which is flat all the way, so several hundred feet of that clearance is kind of "free," or at least cheaper than rising that high over water. Theron

Some photos from a public, but non-cruise related Facebook page showing scenes from the disembarkation yesterday! Theron https://www.facebook.com/groups/ExploringVirginia/posts/2170714693285642/

Wow, I hadn't heard about that one before. Wikipedia confirms the span length, but also reports that the clearance is only 138 feet. So if that lower clearance (Key bridge was 185) is inherent to the design, it may not be the best choice. Theron

For those interested in following the official information provided by the Unified Command... ABOUT THIS RESOURCE This is a site dedicated to the handling of Key Bridge Response 2024. All information presented here is based on the available facts surrounding the incident. For the most up-to-date information and details on the different components of the response please refer to this site. This site is maintained by the Unified Command to provide information to the public on the status of the incident and response. We will continue to keep stakeholders informed through updates on this site. If you would like to receive email updates please subscribe to the incident mailing list. https://www.keybridgeresponse2024.com/

There's no rush. She's got at least 8 to10 extra hours of time on her itinerary. Maybe some stragglers still coming in from the change in port? ETA: They could literally wait until the scheduled departure time in Baltimore, then put those last minute folks on a bus and have time to get to Norfolk without impacting their itinerary schedule. Theron

There is a two-factor situation going on here. All by itself, the shorter distance to the ocean from Norfolk instead of Baltimore would refute a "distance and time" reason. But there's more to the story. Independent of the itinerary or the distance to the ocean, they were forced to shorten the cruise by a day due to a major parade in downtown Norfolk on the originally scheduled return day. A two hour parade walking directly in front of the cruise terminal right as thousands of passengers are disembarking is an untenable situation. Once they lost that day, the impact and forced change to the itinerary manifested itself as the "distance and time" factor that they are claiming. Theron

Is this a public webcam? Theron

From Marinetraffic, looks like she's arrived. Any pictures from anyone? Theron

I obviously don't know where you live, but your profile says Indiana. Google tells me the drive from Indianapolis to Norfolk is exactly two hours longer than the drive from Indianapolis to Baltimore. Just sayin'... you don't have to drive to Baltimore first, then to Norfolk! There's a more direct route, and I can say from much personal experience, the last half of that trip is actually quite scenic! 😁 Theron

HAZMAT aside (probably the deal breaker for a tunnel) the Virginia DOT is in the middle of building four more lanes under Hampton Roads right now, doubling the capacity of that tunnel. Price tag: $3.9 Billion! https://hrbtexpansion.org/about/ Theron