Maryland: Chesapeake Bay Bridge dubbed the ‘scariest’ in America – but could disaster strike again?
The images of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsing were extraordinary and chilling.
A tragedy in Baltimore has now become an economic and logistical nightmare for the region.
But was it a freak one-off? Well, worryingly, maybe not.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge is made of two separate bridges built around 20 years apart
Just 20 miles downstream from the Key Bridge, and on the same shipping lane, is another that’s bigger, longer, older and busier. And it’s earned the tag – the scariest in America.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is actually two. One bridge, for two lanes of traffic, was built in 1952. A second, with three lanes, was added in 1973.
Local fisherman Brian Hardman took Sky News out into the bay to see the bridges up close
A hodge-podge of different bridges
Sky News took to Chesapeake Bay with local fisherman Brian Hardman.
We passed the backed up cargo ships, blocked from entering Baltimore Port because of the downed Key Bridge up stream.
We paused way below the vast Chesapeake Bay Bridge complex for a closer look at this ageing feat of engineering.
Up close to one of the four pylons which supports the suspended part of the bridges, you do not need to be an expert to see the lack of protection.
A sitting duck
A tiny wooden buffer, broken in places, clads ageing concrete from which corroding metal work supports the road high above.
If a ship was to hit one of these pylons, the impact point would be high up, given the height of modern cargo vessels.
The bridge is protected by wooden guards in places
The dual bridges, 4.3 miles long, are used by 27 million vehicles a year. Eleven million tonnes of cargo pass under them. And yet it is classed by federal authorities as fracture critical.
“The bridge, when I look at it, it’s like a sitting duck just at the mercy of the ships,” structural engineer Professor Abe Aghayere told me.
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His view is shared by peers and he outlines what “fracture critical” means.
“If one piece goes, a whole section of the bridge, or the whole bridge entirely, could go just like the Key Bridge did,” the professor said.
“The piers or the pylons of that of the Bay Bridge are unprotected just like the Key Bridge was. So that worries me. For a bridge that long with that much traffic, it needs to be protected.”
Eleven million tonnes of cargo pass under the bridge every year
A structural engineer warned the bridge was a ‘sitting duck’
It’s everybody’s concern
At his office nearby, we meet commissioner Jim Moran. He is a local politician who campaigns for funding to fix the bridge and build a third one to ease congestion. He is always wondering “what if?”.
“The Bay Bridge, as some people know – it’s been ranked as one of the scariest bridges.”
I suggest to him that it doesn’t look to be in great shape.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed upstream of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge
“Right,” he says.
“And the state is spending a great deal of money to stay ahead of it. I mean, that ship that hit the Key Bridge was probably 100,000 tons. And I don’t know anything that could withstand being hit. So that force, that energy, you know, it’s something everybody’s looking into. It’s everybody’s concern.”
As President Biden surveyed the damage at the Key Bridge, his words were a reminder that it’s an election year.
“Your nation has your back,” the president said.
“The federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect the Congress to support my effort.”
The disaster in Baltimore is a huge setback for the city and the region but could it represent an opportunity for President Biden and the Democratic Party?
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Bridge collapse: What happened?
Commissioner Moran is a Republican. I asked if he thought whether the president had handled the crisis well.
“Yes, I do. He came out right out of the gate saying ‘the federal government is going to be here and we’re going to stay here’. And they’re helping mostly with money. We appreciate him coming out and stepping up to the plate and helping us with this.”
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Sky News has asked the Maryland Transportation Authority to comment on the state of the structure. We are awaiting their response.
The disaster just up stream from here last month puts a critical frightening focus on infrastructure across this country.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.
In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Pic: AP
Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.
“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.
“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”
Sexual assault claims
Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
‘An incredible champion’
Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.
“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.
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Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.
“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.
“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.
“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.
Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.
She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.
‘A survivor’
After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.
She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.
“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Pope’s funeral, Vatican sources have told Sky News.
The US and Ukrainian presidents had a “very productive discussion”, according to a White House Official, and have also agreed to hold further talks after the service.
They are among world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who are attending the funeral of Pope Francis.
Follow live updates: Zelenskyy among world leaders joining thousands of mourners
There was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square when the Ukrainian leader walked out.
The former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.
Trump and Zelenskyy meet for first time since Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine, and is their first face-to-face meeting after a very public row between the presidents at the White House in February.
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, in a post on X.
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US
Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine are ‘very close to a deal’ – and says ‘two sides should now meet’
Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal” with “most of the major points agreed” – as he called for the two sides to meet.
Shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, the US president said high-level officials should now meet to “finish [the deal] off”.
“A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’.
“Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!”
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Ukraine-Russia peace talks explained
Throughout the week, the US president has criticised both Ukraine and Russia for failing to agree to a peace deal.
On Wednesday, he accused Mr Zelenskyy of harming talks on Truth Social, saying “the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE”.
A day later, after nine people were killed in Kyiv after a Russian missile and drone strike, Mr Trump said: “Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”
The president and other officials have also threatened to withdraw from negotiations if no progress is made toward a deal.
It comes after Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine.
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Putin-Witkoff meeting
The talks allowed Russia and the United States to “further bring their positions closer together” on “a number of international issues”, a Kremlin aide said.
Speaking earlier on the flight to Italy, Mr Trump said he hadn’t been fully briefed on Mr Witkoff and Mr Putin’s meeting – but added it was a “pretty good meeting”.
Read more:
US and Russia talks moving in ‘right direction’, top diplomat says
A ‘barbaric’ 24 hours in a ‘horrendous’ war
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Ukraine has repeatedly said it would not accept a deal conceding land or handing over sovereignty to Russia.
However, Mr Trump said in an interview with TIME magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” describing the region as a place where Moscow has “had their submarines” and “the people speak largely Russian”.
“Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” he added. “It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”
When asked on Friday about Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Zelenskyy did not want to comment but repeated that recognising occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line.
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