It was August 2023. The Port of Baltimore in Maryland was looking forward to receiving the Evergreen Ever Max, a 165,000-ton freighter capable of carrying over 15,400 containers. "It's no secret why these massive containerships want to call on the Port of Baltimore," hailed Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld. "They know Maryland's port is a valuable resource and a terrific partner in moving goods efficiently across the state and throughout the region." He went on to praise the 15-meter-deep channel and the gigantic cranes capable of unloading such cargo.

Six months later, another cargo ship, with a capacity of just 10,000 containers but almost as monstrous, the Dali, created a catastrophe, striking a pier of the Francis Scott Key Bridge spanning the bay. It collapsed on Tuesday, March 26, at around 1:30 am. Baltimore and the United States are now questioning what was still a source of optimism in the summer of 2023.

First, there's the issue of ship size, which has been steadily increasing over the years, especially since the Panama Canal's gauge was enlarged in 2016. Baltimore had equipped itself to receive these giants of the seas. Was that a good thing, in the end? Then there's the question of the bridge's structural integrity. Built in 1977, it was not specifically designed to withstand this type of accident, and the channel was not protected. With a main span of 400 meters, it was the second-longest continuous truss bridge in the US.

The accident, which left six people missing, now presumed dead, revives an age-old debate about the obsolescence of American infrastructure, particularly bridges, although it's hard to see how any steel structure could have withstood such an impact. According to a 2021 report by the American Society of Civil Engineers, 42% of America's 617,000 bridges are at least 50 years old and 7.5% of them are considered structurally deficient, even though 178 million vehicles cross them every day. However, the last fatal disaster reported by the press dates back to 2007, when a bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, killing 13 people. This event is therefore exceptional.

The work will take months, if not longer. "My intention is that the federal government will pay the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect Congress to support that effort," promised President Joe Biden, in the midst of an election campaign, adding that "ship traffic in the Port of Baltimore has been suspended until further notice. And we'll need to clear that channel before the ship traffic can resume."

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