A controlled explosion took down the largest remaining span of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Monday, marking a major milestone in clearing the channel following the deadly bridge collapse in March.
The operation was initially scheduled to take place on Saturday, but it was delayed due to safety concerns over lightning. Crews successfully set off a chain of explosives to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed bridge, according to officials.
The controlled explosion was conducted in order to free the Dali cargo ship from underneath the wreckage of the bridge. The Singapore-registered container ship collapsed after the vessel crashed into the bridge during the early morning hours of March 26.
Surveillance footage captured the moment the 985-foot-long vessel lost power and went dark before it struck one of the bridge’s support columns, causing the span of the bridge to collapse into the water within seconds.
Operators of the cargo ship had issued a mayday call just moments before the ship struck the bridge. The vessel was en route to Sri Lanka when it rammed into the 47-year-old bridge.
The crash killed six construction workers who were fixing potholes on the bridge at the time. Maritime traffic at the busy Port of Baltimore and commuter traffic across the bridge were indefinitely suspended.
Video of the targeted explosion showed flashes of bright orange and plumes of thick, black smoke as a large chunk of the collapsed structure crumbled and fell into the water.
Officials warned residents ahead of time that the process would sound similar to fireworks.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore visited the site hours before the explosives were detonated and discussed the complexity of the mission.
He said that the Key Bridge Response Unified Command used precision cuts with small charges to remove the large section of bridge wreckage from the top of the cargo ship.
Those small charges ultimately split the large section of the truss at specific locations to create several, smaller sections, according to officials. This was the same process used for the controlled demolition of the Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge in Maryland last year.
“We are now very close to fully clearing the channel and we’re already getting large ships in and out of the port of Baltimore. Over the next week, we are expecting about 30 vessels and barges at the port’s public and private terminals,” the governor said.
The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will hold a hearing on the deadly bridge collapse on Wednesday. Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board, Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Transportation are expected to testify at the hearing.
The ship’s electrical system continues to be the focus of the NTSB and FBI’s ongoing investigation.
