Debate over Whether Protections Could Have Saved Baltimore Bridge

Debate over Whether Protections Could Have Saved Baltimore Bridge

　　In 2007, when a 274-meter-long container ship struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, it stood firm. No one died, either on the ship or the road above.

　　The bridge's supports were protected by a fendering system of materials that were designed to soften¹ such a strike.

　　Now, people are asking if such a system, or other safety measures, could have saved Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. The Key Bridge recently collapsed² after the container ship Dali lost power and struck it.

　　Sherif El-Tawil is a University of Michigan engineering³ professor. He said there are several safety measures that "would have made a huge difference" had they been in place for the Baltimore bridge.

　　El-Tawil said a fendering system could have softened⁴ the 300-meter-long ship's strike. The system includes long tubes called pilings attached to the river bottom that would have helped move the container ship away from the bridge. Another possible protection could have been an island of rocks around the bridge's supports.

　　"It may seem like a very large force," El-Tawil said of the cargo⁵ ship. "But I think you can design around it, either through a protective⁶ system or by designing the bridge itself to have massive⁷ towers."

　　Such protections are being questioned after the disaster, which took the lives of six workers on the Key Bridge. Experts say the 47-year-old bridge did not appear to have the protections that are common among newer bridges.

　　The incident is raising questions about how much money American taxpayers⁸ are willing to spend to protect against these rare but deadly accidents. And not everyone agrees the Key Bridge could have been saved.

　　Pete Buttigieg is the Transportation Secretary of the U.S. He recently said at a White House press conference that there has been a lot of debate about whether any of those protections could have avoided the disaster. He said it was a massive strike where the force of about 91,000 metric⁹ tons, much larger than a building, hit the bridge.

　　Buttigieg did not directly answer a question about whether steps should be taken to protect the nation's bridges. But he noted¹⁰ that many bridges have been designed to better protect against strikes since a large truck hit Florida's Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1980. That disaster killed 35 people.

　　Baltimore's Key Bridge opened three years before the disaster in 1977. That was a time when container ships were much smaller. In recent years, the ships have grown to carry more containers to save on shipping¹¹ costs.

　　Mark Luther is a professor at the University of South Florida (USF) and a director of the USF Center for Maritime¹² and Port Studies.

　　Luther said that to go back and add protections to an existing bridge, like the Key Bridge, would be extremely costly¹³. He added that to his knowledge no one has done it. Officials, he said, have accepted that there is a risk with bridges that were built in the 70s with what was then the latest technology.

　　Roberto Leon is a Virginia Tech engineering professor. He said the technology is available to protect a bridge against a strike with a massive cargo ship like the Dali.

　　But he warned that governments will always be weighing the costs and the risks. He questioned whether anyone would design protections for such a massive strike.

　　He said, "Would you design it for such an enormous¹⁴ load? Because as the load increases, it becomes much more expensive."

　　Words in This Story

　　fender – n. a soft solid object such as an old tire or a piece of rope that is hung over the side of a boat so the boat is not damaged if it touches another boat, a wall

　　huge – adj. very large

　　massive – adj. very large, heavy and solid

　　tower – n. a tall narrow building or part of a building, especially of a church or castle

　　enormous – adj. extremely large

1 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 engineering   

n.工程，工程学，管理，操纵

参考例句：

• The science of engineering began as soon as man learned to use tools. 人类一学会使用工具,工程科学就开始了。
• It was the first great engineering works in the world. 这是世界上第一家大型的工程工厂。

4 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

5 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

6 protective   

adj.防护的，保护的

参考例句：

• A mother naturally feels protective towards her children.做母亲的天生要保护自己的孩子。
• We feel safe with a protective device in the house.我们因为家里有了防护装置而感到安全。

7 massive   

adj.巨大的，大规模的，大量的，大范围的

参考例句：

• A massive sea search has failed to find any survivors.经过大规模的海上搜救仍未找到幸存者。
• He drank a massive amount of alcohol.他喝了大量的烈酒。

8 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

9 metric   

adj.公制的，米制的，十进制的；n.度量标准，公制，米制，十进制

参考例句：

• In the metric system,measurements are made in metres and liters.在公制中，用米和升作计量单位。
• The metric system is fit to all of the world. 公制适用于全世界。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

12 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

13 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

14 enormous   

adj.巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• An enormous sum of money is injected each year into teaching.每年都有大量资金投入到教学中。
• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。