Huge crane ready to clear Baltimore bridge debris

The largest crane on the US Eastern Seaboard readied yesterday to begin salvage work to clear Baltimore harbour after a cargo ship crashed into a major bridge causing it to collapse.

Vessel traffic through the busy Port of Baltimore has been suspended indefinitely since the accident brought down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in stunning speed, claiming the lives of six men working on a pothole repair team.

Road traffic has also been impacted, with thousands of motorists each day being diverted to an already congested tunnel under the city.

The work of clearing tons of steel debris from the deep waters of the Patapsco River is expected to be difficult and dangerous, made more delicate by the fact that the bodies of four workers have yet to be recovered.

But the arrival of the huge floating crane – able to lift a 1,000-ton load – will allow the work to begin.

The four missing workers are believed to have been killed when the Singapore-flagged, 300-metre container ship Dali lost power and careened into a bridge support column early on Tuesday.

Officials said that as the crane begins work, with two more smaller floating cranes en route, an early challenge will be to cut the twisted bridge wreckage into pieces the cranes can handle.

The federal administration has approved $60 million in emergency funding for the complex clean-up and recovery operation, while the cost of building a new bridge could ultimately hit $1 billion.

The operation will likely take place in three phases: trusses from the bridge removed to allow one-way traffic into and out of the port; bridge segments on the ship lifted so the ship can be moved; and then steel and concrete debris from the river bed cleared. (AFP)