The Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse

March 30, 2024- Saturday 

At 1:24 a.m. Tuesday morning, a large cargo ship in the Port of Baltimore lost all power to its engines. The cargo ship was headed out to sea and could no longer steer itself. The cargo ship was headed for one of the large support standards used to keep the Francis Scott Key Bridge suspended above the bay. The cargo ship captain was able to call port authorities and they were able to stop all car traffic on the bridge. They were not able to notify the road work crew on the bridge working to make road repairs.  

The cargo ship hit the standard supporting the bridge and the entire bridge collapsed. Thousands of tons of concrete and steel ended up blocking the Port of Baltimore. It was now closed. Far worse than the bridge collapsing, seven hard working road workers died in the collapse. Two workmen survived. Two of the workers are still trapped dead below the bridge wreckage and authorities are working to find a way to get to them. I cannot imagine the horror for those workers, and I cannot imagine the horror for their families now. 

Floating cranes are now arriving in Baltimore to begin the work of removing the bridge debris from the bay. This will be such a monster undertaking. It will take months to clear the debris and many months more for the reconstruction of the bridge to occur. I will be avidly watching to see how all the work will be done in this horrible situation. I think this will be a project for the ages. I would expect many will study this situation for years to come to know how to avoid a similar tragedy in the future and how to recover from a situation like this.  

One thing we all need to take a sober look at is the fragility of our lives. We hear this too much these days, but it is real. Those six road workers did not expect to die when they went to work that night. Those unfortunate men came face-to-face with their Maker that night in a very short period of time. You know their panic and horror was unimaginable. We need to stay vigilant and work to stay responsible to God and to our families. We do not know when we will meet our end. 

We also need to take advantage of every moment we are given to love others and love life.