Demolition of the largest remaining steel spans in a controlled manner. Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed The game in Baltimore was postponed due to weather conditions, officials said Sunday afternoon.
Crews have been preparing for weeks to use explosives to destroy the span, which is 500 feet (152 meters) long and weighs up to 600 tons.
After Dali lost power, he landed on the bow of the ship and crashed into one of the bridge’s supports shortly after leaving Baltimore. Since then, the ship has remained trapped under wreckage and Baltimore’s busy port has been closed to most maritime traffic.
Officials said demolition work has been tentatively moved to Monday evening. They said lightning struck the area on Sunday and rising tides prompted them to change their schedule.
Six road construction workers died in a collapse on March 26. Their last bodies were recovered from the underwater wreckage last week. The victims were all Latino immigrants who came to the United States in search of work. When the bridge was destroyed they were working overnight, filling the potholes.
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A controlled demolition will allow the Dali to get back on the water and return to Baltimore Harbor. Once the vessel is removed, maritime traffic can return to normal, which will bring relief to thousands of dockworkers, truck drivers and small business owners whose jobs have been affected by the closure.
Dali’s 21 crew members stayed on board while the explosives detonated.
Crew spokesman William Marks said they would shelter in a “designated safe location” during demolition. “We are taking every precaution to ensure everyone’s safety,” he said in an email.
Officials said demolition is the safest and most efficient way to remove steel under high levels of pressure and tension.
“It is not safe for workers to be on or in the immediate vicinity of the bridge trusses for final cutting operations,” officials said in a news release Sunday.
In a video released last week, authorities said engineers were using precision cutting to control how the trusses break apart. They said the method allowed for “surgical precision” and that the steel structure would be “bounced off the dolly” when the explosives tumbled into the water.
Once demolition is complete, hydraulic grabbers lift the steel pieces onto the barge.
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“It is important to note that this controlled demolition is not what you see in the movies.” The video notes that in the distance you will hear what sounds like fireworks or loud thunder and smoke billowing out.
So far, about 6,000 tons of steel and concrete have been removed from the collapse site. Officials estimate the total amount of debris to be 50,000 tons, the equivalent of 3,800 dump trucks.
Officials previously said they hoped to dismantle the Dali by May 10 and reopen the port’s 50-foot (15.2 m) main channel by the end of May.
The Dali is currently scheduled to refloat at high tide on Tuesday, officials said Sunday. They said three to four tugboats would be used to guide the ship to a terminal near the Port of Baltimore. It will remain there for a few weeks, receiving temporary repairs, before moving to the shipyard for more substantial repairs.
Otherwise, the crew was not allowed to leave the ship after the disaster. Officials said they were busy maintaining the vessel and assisting investigators. Twenty of the crew members are from India and one is from Sri Lanka.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are investigating the bridge collapse.
Danish shipping giant Maersk chartered the Dali for a planned trip from Baltimore to Sri Lanka, but the ship didn’t make it far. The crew sent out a mayday call saying they had lost power and lost control of the steering system. A few minutes later, the ship hit the bridge.
Officials said the safety board investigation will focus on the ship’s electrical system.
