The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday morning due to a massive impact from a container ship, as stated by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday. Buttigieg explained that the bridge, constructed in the 1970s, was not designed to withstand a direct hit on a critical support pier by a vessel weighing approximately 200 million pounds. This weight far exceeds that of cargo ships operating in the area when the bridge was originally built.
During a White House briefing, Buttigieg emphasized that the bridge's collapse was a result of the immense force exerted by the container ship, which was significantly larger than the vessels the bridge was engineered to withstand. The impact on the support pier led to the structural failure of the bridge.
Buttigieg assured that the federal government is fully committed to providing all necessary resources to assist Maryland in recovering from the bridge collapse. Efforts are underway to support the state in restoring normalcy and addressing the aftermath of the incident.
