Destruction of the Baltimore Bridge
Officials reported that a loose signal wire was behind the power outage that led to the cargo ship Dali colliding with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced this finding on Tuesday, attributing the incident to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) for not properly evaluating the bridge’s capacity to withstand such impacts.
The bridge collapsed in the early morning hours of March 26, 2024, after the Dali lost power and hit a support pier, resulting in the bridge falling into the Patapsco River.
The NTSB’s investigation revealed that a misplaced wire caused a complete power failure, leaving the Dali without propulsion or steering capabilities right before the crash. They indicated that the disaster could have been avoided if Maryland had adhered to earlier safety recommendations.
According to the NTSB, “the probable cause of the collision between the Dali and the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a power outage due to a loose signal wire connection to the terminal block stemming from improper installation of the radio label band.”
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Images taken on April 1, 2024, show the Dali amidst the wreck of the bridge, almost a week after the collision.
Investigators noted that crews acted quickly to address the power outage but ran out of time to restore it before the ship collided with the bridge. The ship was too close, and the delay meant a collision was unavoidable.
The report also criticized MDTA for neglecting to perform vulnerability assessments as recommended by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which could have identified protective measures against ship strikes.
The NTSB stated that the disaster was attributed to “the lack of measures to mitigate the bridge’s vulnerability to collapse due to impacts from ocean-going vessels,” something that could have been addressed with a proper vulnerability assessment.
Engineers testified that the crew of the Dali mismanaged the flushing pump as a service pump, hampering their ability to restore power. Additionally, the NTSB criticized Synergy Marine Group for running critical electrical systems in manual mode, further complicating recovery efforts after the outage.
NTSB engineer Bart Burnham remarked that “Synergy’s operational oversight was insufficient due to the crew’s failure to stop using the flushing pump improperly for the Dali and at least one other diesel generator.”
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The findings highlighted failures in communication that prevented timely alerts to road workers, leaving them without a chance to evacuate before the bridge fell.
The report came just a day after Maryland officials projected that the reconstruction of the bridge would take two additional years and cost over $5.2 billion—twice the initial estimate of $1.9 billion that was used to obtain federal funding.
Jim Harkness, the chief engineer for MDTA, explained to the Washington Post that inflation and market factors have driven costs up.
He added, “Estimating is tough for these large projects; market factors play a role.” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy previously forecasted that the final costs would be “double” the original estimate when federal funds were factored in.
The NTSB’s report outlined a series of failures—from a single faulty power line to long-standing lapses in safety protocols—that culminated in one of Maryland’s gravest infrastructure catastrophes.
As reconstruction efforts proceed, the escalating costs and delays underscore the ongoing impact of the collapse on Maryland’s economy and infrastructure.
