VIDEO: Explosives demolish collapsed Baltimore bridge
15 May 2024
Controlled Demolition Inc has used explosives to clear a section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, which suffered a catastrophic collapse when the cargo ship M/V Dali collided with it on Tuesday 26 March.
The precision blasting was the latest part of a major dismantling and salvage operation, being carried out by a multi-agency taskforce known as the Unified Command Group, to clear both the fallen structure and the disabled M/V Dali cargo vessel from the Patapsco River.
The tangled wreckage of the two has been partially blocking the Fort McHenry shipping channel for over a month.
CDI’s recent demolition and cutting work was designed and prepared to dismantle a specific section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, under which the port-side bow of the Dali vessel had been trapped since the collision.
The explosives targeted the structure’s truss elements, and their ignition resulted in a blast that successfully dismantled the bridge section as planned.
According to CDI, work to remove the debris and remaining steel will now continue, so that the salvage team can refloat the M/V Dali cargo ship.
The vessel will then be safely removed from the channel - something that is expected to happen within the next week, and the Fort McHenry Channel reopened to full capacity soon after.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge was destroyed when the Dali cargo vessel reportedly lost power before ramming into a support pillar, plunging the structure into the river as it fell apart within seconds early morning on March 26.
The ship’s pilot reportedly issued a ‘mayday call’ minutes before the collision, allowing Maryland transportation officers to stop oncoming traffic onto the bridge.
