As Maryland officials deal with the aftermath of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on the Baltimore Beltway, a former governor from another state who dealt with a similar tragedy spoke out on Fox News.
Former Republican Governor of Minnesota Tim Pawlenty talked about “Your World” There are many similarities between what happened in Maryland early Tuesday morning and the 2007 incident in Minneapolis, when a structural failure caused an Interstate 35 bridge to collapse into the Mississippi River below. However, there are some obvious differences. The collapse killed 13 people and injured 145.
”[There are] There are so many similarities,” Pawlenty said. “The shock, the sadness, the grief, the righteous condolences for the families and the victims are all on your mind. But of course, other things come flooding in at the same time.”
Pawlenty hopes the all-hands-on-deck restoration effort praised by Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore will continue, just as it did when he oversaw the restoration of I-35W. He said he was doing it.
Ship hits FSK bridge, causing collapse
The Francis Scott Key Bridge on the Baltimore Beltway collapsed. (Jasper Colt/USA Today/IMAGN)
But unlike in Minneapolis, where the NTSB launched an investigation into the structure itself, investigators will focus on the alleged mechanical failure of the Singapore-flagged container ship that crashed into the Key Bridge shortly after descending the Patapsco River. Pawlenty speculated. Port of Baltimore.
”[I]I feel like this is going to move from what happened on the bridge to what happened on the ship…” Pawlenty said.
Completed in 1977 to complete the Interstate 695 Loop, the Key Bridge is one of the three Patapsco River intersections between the I-895 Harbor Tunnel Thruway and Interstate 95. It was the third busiest bridge after the Fort McHenry Tunnel on the Baltimore Skyway. Nevertheless, it was an important feature of Baltimore’s skyline and an important link between Glen Burnie and Dundalk.
Pawlenty said Minnesotans calmly handled the traffic impact during the Minneapolis collapse, with alternate highway shoulders being converted to travel lanes to alleviate backups.
Coast Guard suspends search for survivors of FSK bridge collapse
“We’ve been able to move people, goods and commerce through the Twin Cities. I don’t want to say it’s without delays or interruptions, but certainly the additional lane capacity that we’ve developed has made a really big difference. Born. And maybe Baltimore can do something about it.” That’s it, too,” he said.
Although Key Bridge was relatively far away compared to its two related bridges, the closure of Bethlehem Steel and its Sparrows Point mill on the Dundalk side led to the emergence of multiple warehouse facilities, including a huge Amazon complex. However, this may have increased traffic on the bridge. Traffic numbers at that point.
Pawlenty added that the reconstruction of the I-35W span was significantly faster than customary, and told Fox News that such a project could not have been accelerated without support from the George W. Bush administration.
“We have set a record for major infrastructure projects in this country,” he said. ”[It] As we demonstrated by rebuilding a bridge in one year, these large-scale projects don’t have to take 10 years to complete.
The original Key Bridge took about five years to build, but there is precedent for rebuilding projects being accelerated after a tragic event. After Hurricane Ian caused extensive damage to the Sanibel Island embankment bridge in Lee County, Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis “cut through the bureaucratic red tape” to reopen the critical bridge ahead of schedule.
Beyond any comparison, crisis leadership is key, Pawlenty said.
“In crisis leadership, one of the most important things, if not the only thing, is certainly dialogue.[ing] Caring for victims and those harmed as a result. But then we need to make sure we have all the facts and the forces we need to be confident and strong leaders to deal with this crisis,” he said.
