DETROIT – The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge has sparked serious concerns that a similar tragedy could happen in Michigan.
At least six people are believed to have died in the incident over the Patapsco River in Baltimore.
Read: Driving along -- and the roadway vanishes beneath you. What is it like to survive a bridge collapse?
A massive cargo ship lost power and struck the bridge early Tuesday, March 26. Authorities confirmed that the vessel dropped anchor as an emergency measure before the crash. Video from the scene captured the ship’s lightly flickering and going out before hitting a support pillar.
A mayday call alerted authorities 90 seconds before the collision, leading to police and construction crews working to stop vehicle traffic over the bridge in both directions.
At least eight people went into the water. Two were rescued but the other six, part of a construction crew that had been filling potholes on the bridge, were missing and presumed dead.
Federal and state officials have said the crash appeared to be an accident. Investigators on Wednesday plan to collect evidence on the ship, including electronics and paperwork, said National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy.
President Joe Biden said he wants the federal government to bear the full cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge and he wants that to begin as soon as humanly possible.
Could a similar incident happen in Michigan? The Detroit River is one of the busiest rivers for commercial shipping on the planet and, as it turns out, having hundreds of freighters come through every week is something that officials have planned for.
Michigan’s bridges aren’t built the same way. The Francis Scott Key Bridge is a continuous truss bridge, which Michigan does not have many of. The Ambassador Bridge -- like the Mackinac Bridge -- is a suspension bridge. Its tower on the Detroit side is on land, but the tower on the Canadian side is about 150 feet from the Windsor shore. The water around this tower is between 6-18 feet deep, not deep enough for a fully loaded freighter to get close enough to strike it.
The still-under-construction Gordie Howe Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge, has both its towers on land. The Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron has both its pylons on land too.
Going further north, we get to the Mackinac Bridge, which is a different situation. The Mighty Mac is a suspension bridge that stretches roughly five miles across the Straits of Mackinac. It has six standards in the water, but the central two have roughly 3/4ths of a mile between them -- enough space for multiple freighters to pass through at the same time.
That doesn’t mean that the Mackinac Bridge hasn’t been struck -- it’s been hit three times since 1968. In 2023, a crane scraped the bottom of the bridge. In 2021, a 30-foot vessel hit one of the towers. In 1968, a Greek freighter hit the bridge in heavy fog. It was not significantly damaged.
Read: A list of major US bridge collapses caused by ships and barges
The Big Three automakers ship about a million vehicles every year out of the port in Baltimore. Stellantis said the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge may cause delays. Both Ford and General Motors said they have options and alternatives and that the collapse won’t have too much of an impact.
Michigan is a transportation and logistics hub and our infrastructure is designed with that in mind. Our bridges are considered safe due to their different designs and the planning that has gone into them to accommodate commercial shipping and travel. While the state has experienced a few incidents, there hasn’t been anything that caused damages that could put lives at risk.
Related: Baltimore bridge collapse and port closure send companies scrambling to reroute cargo
