Thoughts on the bridge collapse

----and specifically the "bumpers" at the base of the piers.

Clearly they were inadequate, that is not arguable. They are also said (Engineering News Record) to be compliant with the code in place at the time of construction. Clearly the code was inadequate.

Many (most?) such bumpers are a modified oval shapes which will help deflect any ship coming in contact with them. The energy required to deflect a ship is far less than required to stop a ship. Also many (most?) bumpers extend away from the piers much further than the small square bumpers in this case. That extension is critical. Simply look at the bow of a ship, which extends far out from the water line----where the bumper is. That means the upper bow will contact the pier before the lower bow contacts the bumper, rendering the bumper useless.

Clearly the engineers should have known better and it is also possible that if they did they were overruled by the "owners". :sorry:

May we learn from this avoidable tragedy.

The video below, showing current drone footage from NTSB, may help illustrate what Dave is talking about...The remains of the bridge bumpers seem to be intact and partly above water, while the much larger bumpers for the power lines crossing the waterway stand in comparison...:bump:...Ben

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwgOHpZlxvc

Thanks Ben :cool:

There's a good article w/pics online about the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge - which has supports specifically designed to endure full on hits from ships. The biggest problem they have is trying to keep people from jumping off it.

Hunter