A Bridge Collapse from 1980 with Similarities to Today

Unless you are living under a rock, you probably know that the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapasco River in Baltimore was struck by a cargo vessel and collapsed. It didn't take long for people who know nothing of ship operations, or civil engineering to trot out a series of conspiracy theories, which have little relation to reality. #BridgeCollapse.

The only thing really published at this point is that the vessel in question was the 948 foot container ship Dali, which was leaving the port of Baltimore when it lost power, and collided with one of the bridge pylons. This caused the entire span to collapse. From the photos it is clear that the vessel was loaded.

Fighting against the tide of conspiracy theories at this point is moot. As someone on Twitter/X noted, everyone is suddenly an expert in civil engineering and large vessel operations. Instead of wading into that swamp, I thought I would shamelessly steal a post from myself, about a similar bridge collapse from 44 years ago.

On Friday 9 May 1980, at 7:33 in the morning, the vessel MV Summit Venture, in fog and rain, struck one of the supports of the southbound lanes (the west span) of the Sunshine Skyway, causing about 1200 feet of the bridge to fall 150 feet into the water. 35 people died. Cars, trucks and a Greyhound bus fell into the water that day. Most died of blunt-force trauma. Some drowned. One man survived when his truck landed on the deck of the Summit Venture before falling into the water.

The principle difference between the collapse today, and the one from 44 years ago, is that the Sunshine Skyway was a double span, so that when the west span collapsed, the east span was still standing, and could carry half the traffic. There is also the fact that the MV Summit Venture, which struck the bridge in Florida, was not carrying cargo, but was "light," with only ballast, while the Dali appears to be fully loaded.

This video documents the official recording of the MAYDAY call between MV Summit Venture and the US Coast Guard base in St Petersburg. A few other ships are heard as well. Photos are of the aftermath.

This story is from 2020, in which the Tampa Bay Times marked the 40th anniversary of that collapse. The Skyway bridge collapsed 40 years ago. Here’s how we’re remembering the tragedy. That is a collection of links to things about the collapse. Interviews with people who worked search and rescue, information about the trial of the pilot, and a few other links.

Saturday marks 40 years since the 19,734-ton Summit Venture freighter slammed into the old Skyway bridge. Six cars, a truck and a Greyhound bus plummeted 150 feet into the choppy waters of Tampa Bay below. Thirty-five died.

In the case of The Sunshine Skyway, a two-lane bridge opened in 1954. A second structure, similar to the first opened in 1959 making the crossing 4 lanes, connecting the south end of Pinellas County with the north end of Manatee County.

The Key Bridge (as it is known in Baltimore) was built between 1972 and 1977, opening to traffic on March 23rd of that year.

In Florida a new bridge was built to replace both of the old spans. You can find some info on that new bridge at this link. The video shows what I consider to be a work of art.