One Loose Wire Took Down a Bridge. The Bill Is $5.2 Billion

On March 26th, 2024, the container ship Dali lost power twice in the Patapsco River and struck a pier of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. The bridge collapsed; six highway workers on it died. The NTSB traced the blackout to one loose signal wire, and found that the bridge had never been assessed for how likely a ship strike was to bring it down, as recommended since 1991. Inside: the four minutes, the cleanup, Minneapolis 2007, a replacement estimated at up to $5.2 billion, and 68 other bridges the NTSB flagged. Chapters: 0:00 Intro 0:57 The bridge 2:05 Four minutes 4:42 One wire 6:21 Why it fell 7:52 Clearing the river 8:57 Minneapolis, 2007 10:08 The new bridge 11:49 Sixty-eight more 12:49 Close Archive video (public domain, U.S. federal works, image only): U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers via DVIDS: dvidshub.net/video/917541, /918042, /918933, /920511, /926255 National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) animations and B-roll:    / @ntsbgov   Photos (public domain): U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NASA (ISS), FEMA; via Wikimedia Commons, incl. works released into the public domain by their authors (Baltimore County, Maryland; Frenchcheesemuseum, Baseball Bugs) and CC0 (Czbik). Photos under CC BY 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/): "Driving the Francis Scott Key bridge" by Brent Moore: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Driving_the_Francis_Scott_Key_bridge.jpg "Francis scott key bridge (2019)" by Rafael Saldaña: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francis_scott_key_bridge_(2019).jpg "Herbert A. Wagner Generating Station aerial" by Doc Searls from Santa Barbara, USA: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herbert_A._Wagner_Generating_Station_aerial.jpg Own graphics. Relief: USGS 3DEP · Water: USGS NHD · Roads: USGS The National Map · Channels: USACE · Borders: Natural Earth (all public domain). Music: original. Narration: AI-generated voice (ElevenLabs). Sources: ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MIR2540.pdf ntsb.gov/investigations/Documents/Board%20Summary%20Contact%20of%20Containership%20Dali%20with%20Francis%20Scott%20Key%20Bridge.pdf ntsb.gov/investigations/Documents/DCA24MM031_PreliminaryReport%203.pdf ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MIR2510.pdf ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/nr20250320.aspx web.archive.org/web/20231230114112/https://mdta.maryland.gov/Toll_Facilities/FSK.html keybridgerebuild.com/ keybridgerebuild.com/faq/ mdta.maryland.gov/blog-category/mdta-news-releases/maryland-transportation-authority-releases-updated-estimates-cost mdta.maryland.gov/blog-category/mdta-news-releases/maryland-transportation-authority-ramp-progressive-design-build mdta.maryland.gov/blog-category/mdta-news-releases/maryland-transportation-authority-announces-four-separate mdot.maryland.gov/tso/pages/newsroomdetails.aspx?newsId=794&PageId=38 keybridgerebuild.com/newsroom/ oag.maryland.gov/News/Pages/Attorney-General-Brown-Announces-Final-Settlement-with-Owners-and-Operators-of-the-MV-Dali-in-Francis-Scott-Key-Bridge-Col.aspx congress.gov/118/plaws/publ158/PLAW-118publ158.pdf army.mil/article/277129/usace_announces_full_restoration_of_baltimores_fort_mchenry_federal_channel army.mil/article/275736/large_flock_of_cranes_nibble_at_key_bridge_wreckage ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/HAR0803.pdf dot.state.mn.us/i35wbridge/collapse.html oig.dot.gov/sites/default/files/St__Anthony_Falls_(I-35W)_Bridge.pdf army.mil/article/4335/army_corps_of_engineers_helps_with_i_35w_bridge_collapse infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/bridges-infrastructure/ wypr.org/wypr-news/2025-11-18/baltimores-key-bridge-rebuild-cost-balloons-schedule-pushed-two-years wypr.org/wypr-news/2026-04-28/maryland-will-switch-contractors-as-it-enters-phase-two-of-key-bridge-rebuild marylandmatters.org/2026/06/03/transportation-officials-hold-firm-on-5-2-billion-price-tag-to-replace-key-bridge/ wypr.org/wypr-news/2026-08-26/mdta-says-key-bridge-rebuild-is-on-track-as-maryland-opens-another-contract wypr.org/wypr-news/2026-04-10/marylands-settlement-over-key-bridge-could-be-millions-or-billions cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/baltimores-key-bridge-rebuild-estimated-cost-completed-later-than-initially-thought/ cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/new-key-bridge-could-be-rebuilt-by-2028-heres-how-much-it-will-cost governor.maryland.gov/news/press-releases/roundup-gov-moore-marks-two-year-anniversary-francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse-rebuild-continues commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:35wBridgecollapse.gif workboat.com/coastal-inland-waterways/chesapeake-1000-lifts-440-ton-section-of-baltimore-bridge 10news.com/prior-ship-mishaps-boosted-confidence-in-strength-of-baltimore-bridge commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Liverpool_Bay_class shipsmonthly.com/news/msc-shatters-records-with-delivery-of-24346teu-msc-irina/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Saint_Anthony_Falls_Bridge