To be fair - it will take days at least, perhaps a few weeks, to assess the situation and determine the safest and most effective way to clear the wreckage. I despise Booty-Judge, but his statement here, while non-informative, is correct.
Even a stopped clock...
Even a stopped clock...
Exactly. I used to be an engineer (have a few degrees). They have to determine how tangled the metal is, what impediments might be in the way, do the pieces have to be cut up, and a lot of other things. Giving an estimate on a time frame now would be speculation at best.
Oh to add: A rescue diver friend of mine told me visibility is about nil in those waters. Another complication...
I’m thinking with litigation and everything else it’ll be 3 to 4 years before they even start construction.
I think Baltimore needs a tunnel.
Yes - it will take time to completely clear the river - but all they need to reopen shipping is clear enough of the center to allow ships to safely pass and mark the wreckage area with buoys (that other container ships can then crash into).
Will there be damage to the ecosystem? Dude.. it’s already damaged and contaminated.
Will there be complications when dragging the bridge components out of the way, absolutely.
This is not the time to open the book of bureaucracy and figure out the appropriate grift and kickbacks to get things moving again.
Doing a complete cleanup? Yeah - that’s going to take months, if not years, let alone the time to put a new bridge (or tunnel) up.
Dismantling and removing the remaining parts of the structure is just a little short an engineering task as the building the bridge originally. And they must make sure to clear any pieces from the floor of the waterway. And these are large very heavy pieces of steel. There must be salvage companies that specialize in this; bu they will also have to position the equipment to do so, and I imagine that has to travel by water from who-knows-where.
The port won’t take too long but I heard the bridge might take a few years. They might have to replace the underwater structure depending how much is damaged. Biden announced that the federal government will pay the entire bill to repair everything. That means it could take 10 years to finish.