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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Building a bridge for the future. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech. I'm Stephanie Hughes.
Chapter 2: What caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge?
It's been two years exactly since the Francis Scott Key Bridge here in Baltimore was hit by a container ship, the Dali, causing it to collapse. When it fell, the state lost a well-traveled highway that served commuters as well as truckers moving goods around the Port of Baltimore. Now the state is rebuilding the bridge.
I met Jim Harkness, chief engineer for the Maryland Transportation Authority, down by the construction site, where there is a hum of activity. You can see tugboats pushing barges with metal that'll support the bridge.
You have tugs, you have at least two cranes.
And then, yeah, like, there's more on the other side.
Chapter 3: How is the new bridge being designed differently from the old one?
Harkness told me the new bridge will not be the same key bridge that was built in the 1970s. It'll be higher and longer, spanning over two miles. It'll also incorporate new technology.
With a bridge of this size, of this complexity, we are going to be including some structural health monitoring. So that is some elements that will be on some of the pieces of the new cable-stayed bridge that will be able to give us data about how the bridge is performing. We also have, because we have 600-foot towers, we'll have some mechanical equipment in there as well.
We'll have some elevators installed. enabling access for the bridge. It allows us for maintenance to get up into where the cables anchor into those main pylons and access portions of the bridge for inspection as well. Since we're close to the port, we get some larger, heavier loads that come across or want to come across.
Chapter 4: What new technologies will be incorporated into the new bridge?
Big trucks are going across the bridge. The former bridge had load restrictions, so above a certain weight, we couldn't bring it over the bridge. we'll have ability to handle more loads going to and coming from the port.
But at the same time, because we'll have some of this data, we'll be able to understand how the bridge is reacting to those increased loads and then have confidence that we're able to continue to deliver that service to the port.
Almost like the bridge will be able to tell you how it's doing in ways that the old bridge could not.
That's right, yeah. So you can monitor the performance of those key structural members using data and not just kind of using some of your computational methods, but you'll actually be able to do your computational method and then kind of look at the data output and understand if it's matching up and if there's anything of concern.
We'll be right back.
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Chapter 5: How will the new bridge handle heavier loads compared to the previous one?
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You're listening to Marketplace Tech. I'm Stephanie Hughes. We're back with Jim Harkness, chief engineer for the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Basically, this bridge will be able to take heavier loads than the other key bridge, or you think you're planning to.
Yes.
And you'll be able to see how it's responding to those heavier loads.
So you can kind of monitor that performance in real time or near real time.
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Chapter 6: What monitoring systems will be used to assess the bridge's performance?
And so then you can actually see how your structure responds to the traffic going over it.
Got it. And so you could either increase it or decrease it or say, hey, we need to repave it more often or whatever adjustments you need.
Right. Yeah. I mean, it'll help you understand your maintenance needs as well as just your performance for the ability to handle loads from the port.
Jim Harkness. He is chief engineer for the Maryland Transportation Authority. Maryland expects the new bridge will be open to traffic in late 2030. I'm Stephanie Hughes, and that's Marketplace Tech.
Chapter 7: When is the expected completion date for the new Francis Scott Key Bridge?
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