At this point, given that the ship appeared to maneuver specifically to avoid the "dolphins", which are a type of bollard that were present near the bridge and that are supposed to stop ships before they hit the main bridge pier, and that even though supposedly powerless it had initiated a turn to starboard directly towards the pier and away from the main channel less than 1,000 feet before impact, I'd say that anyone, government official or otherwise, who maintains at this preliminary stage of investigation that this was an accident can certainly wear the mantle of "conspiracy theorist" with the utmost of comfort.That's why I never watch the news anymore, nothing but doom and gloom.
I did see where one guy was saying it was planned and deliberate. The video he posted showed explosive charges where some of the breaks of the structure happened. Others say it was just the electrical boxes sparking because the wires were ripping apart. Cue all the people with conspiracy theories.
This is the crux of it. Those types of cargo ships didn't exist when that bridge was designed. Ships kept getting larger and heavier while the bridge's design remained the same. If you have enough forward momentum and mass, an inelastic collision suddenly becomes an elastic one.- The bridge and piers were sound. The piers were not designed to withstand the impact of the 200 million pound vessel.
Well it's kinda like this:+
Who is going to cover the cost of an entire bridge rebuild?
Taxpayers, no way
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If it's a dual prop vessel,
if one stops rotating or gets locked in place, it will steer like a army tank and change course
I read about 30k vehicles a day use that bridge. At Jamestown VA two ferrys carry about 35k per day across the James.Time to fire up a Ferry Service.
Right now there's a lot of speculation, but not much of anything solid. The marine equivalent of a black-box recorder apparently had a great deal of background noise on it, and the positional sensors that feed into it stopped doing so when the ship's power went off.Whether it was intentional or an accident that's for the investigation to come to that conclusion. With all the cover ups out there i don't doubt there won't be conspiracy theories in abundance.
But accident or planned one thing is certain. That port is down and the financial loss top to bottom is going to be tremendous.
No, the bridge was the designated route for hazardous materials and oversized vehicles, so tunnels are not an option.would tunnels be better?
That's the most likely scenario; that bridge is a fairly vital link. I just hope Uncle Sam get his mitts on any maritime insurance payouts to defray the expense.Well it's kinda like this:
The DOT can wait for investigations and court cases to play out, then eventually replace the next structure using what funds were obtained.
Or they can rebuild a structure using funds already allocated for other projects, and maybe rainy day monies.
Uncle Santa (formerly known as Uncle Sam) will probably foot the bill.
According to the DOT ferry services can transport trucks carrying hazardous materials. Since this bridge was the primary route for hazmat in the are, the tunnels being off-limits for such transit, a ferry service, perhaps one dedicated to hazmat, makes sense.I read about 30k vehicles a day use that bridge. At Jamestown VA two ferrys carry about 35k per day across the James.
Very good idea Buff.
The bridge (and roadway nearby) were built when the nearby tunnel was becoming a huge log jam.