Notice how the Key Bridge had no fenders. This is why fenders are so important. The only type of protection in this case was the foundation itself, which was not big enough to alter to the course of the ship given the concave shape of the hull. Poor design. 1/2
If you have fenders in place like the 2 bridges below, there is a good chance the ship is unable to make make contact with the piers without the fenders taking the majority of the load first. 2/2
Would like to add: I’m only a civil engineering student in college, so I’m by no means an expert when it comes to this. If you are able to explain this in more detail or have something else to add, please do! Would love to hear it!
That is a wild photo. Almost gives the impression that they care more about a 2 mile stretch of power lines than a bridge that is crossed by tens of millions of people each year.
Don’t think anything is stopping a fully loaded container ship. But they would have at the very least taken some of the load. Could have been the difference between no collapse/partial collapse and complete collapse.
Absolutely jaw dropping. Has so many similarities to a tropical system. By far the most impressive MCV I have ever seen in terms of radar presentation. #ILwx
That’s a fantastic point. And one that I’m not sure how we can tackle. Because there are many outdated bridges just like this all across the country, but who’s gonna fund the new ones? Really good point.
