How a Bridge Collapse Affected Cars, Cruises, and Coal

Weekly Economic News Roundup and bridge collapse

While the length of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was just 1.6 miles, the cost of its collapse extended around the globe. In Baltimore Harbor, no ships are coming in or going out. On land also, the impact is massive.

The Cost of a Bridge Collapse

Commuters

Whether commuting to work locally or traveling between New York and Washington D.C., the Francis Scott Key collapse affected countless people’s travel plans. Called a traffic meltdown, the 35,000 vehicles that crossed the bridge daily need an alternate route. The most likely possibilities are two tunnels that will get a deluge of extra traffic. Hit harder, trucks taller than 14.5 feet and those carrying hazardous material cannot even use the two tunnels.

INRIX tells us that the cost of congestion includes lost time, inflationary pressure, spending more on fuel, and an environmental impact. For their 2022 congestion scorecard, INRIX ranked Baltimore #15 in the United States. Losing 55 hours each year, the annual cost per driver was $932.

With the bridge collapse, we can only assume that Baltimore’s INRIX numbers will increase.

Cargo

As a major destination for cars, cruises, and coal, the port’s disruption will ripple near and far. At 847, 158 vehicles, it is #1 for handling cars and light trucks. At the same time, a whopping 444,000 people traveled through the port on cruises. With coal, also, Baltimore is up there at a #2 rank for exporting coal during the first nine months of 2023 and #9 for foreign cargo value among U.S. ports. The big question now is where it all will go and how much the diversion will cost.

Below, you can see where the Baltimore traffic could go:

Our Bottom Line: Transportation Infrastructure

We do know, though, that the Francis Scott Key collapse created a gap in our transportation infrastructure. Defined at the network of roads and rail, airports and harbors, and all else that moves people and cargo, a transportation infrastructure enables trade. In his Wealth of Nations (1776), Adam Smith explained how a transport network facilitates “distant sale.” The ripple is immense, starting with the need for mass production and ending with specialization. In the U.S., since the eighteenth century, we expanded our transportation infrastructure by adding roads, canals, railroads, airplanes.

More precisely, the Francis Scott Key collapse takes us to the 617,000 bridges in the U.S. One concern has been that 42% are at least 50 years old. Not in great condition, 300,000 were rated as fair and 42,000, poor. And now, a crucial 1.6-mile bridge needs to be rebuilt.

My sources and more: For the Baltimore bridge collapse, my GZero newsletter again was the best source of big and small facts. Then, other details about the bridge were at NBC New York, CBC News, and Reuters. Meanwhile, it is always interesting to look at INRIX for traffic congestion and we also have this note from Governor Moore.

Elaine Schwartz

Elaine Schwartz has spent her career sharing the interesting side of economics. At the Kent Place School in Summit New Jersey, she was honored with an Endowed Chair in Economics. Just published, her newest book, Degree in a Book: Economics (Arcturus 2023), gives readers a lighthearted look at what definitely is not “the dismal science.” She has also written and updated Econ 101 ½ (Avon Books/Harper Collins 1995) and Economics: Our American Economy (Addison Wesley 1994). In addition, Elaine has articles in the Encyclopedia of New Jersey (Rutgers University Press) and was a featured teacher in the Annenberg/CPB video project “The Economics Classroom.” Beyond the classroom, she has presented Econ 101 ½ talks and led workshops for the Foundation for Teaching Economics, the National Council on Economic Education and for the Concord Coalition. Online for more than a decade. econlife has had one million+ visits.