The Sunshine Skyway Bridge Disaster - Case Study Example

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge Disaster Number Introduction That disasters happen is an indisputable and obvious fact. Natural disasters are a testament to the imperfect state of nature and its forces while man-made disasters underscore the fact that man’s work cannot be completely perfect. One of the most memorable artificial disasters of the late 20th century is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Disaster. While disasters such as the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Disaster may be painful and costly in terms of lives and resources lost thereto, yet it is important to remember that considering and analyzing the facts surrounding these disasters may be instrumental in averting the threats of disastrous structural failures and natural disasters in future. Explanation of the Disaster The tragedy surrounding the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Disaster is traced back to the early morning of May 9, 1980, in Tampa Bay. The disaster started when a 609 foot cargo ship accidentally hit the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, and thereby causing the collapse of the segment of the bridge. The ship, the phosphate freighter Summit Venture had made an attempt at navigating beneath the two spans of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge which was guarding the entry point of the bay. At that moment, a Greyhound bus and seven cars fell over the edge of the bridge, into the water. 35 people died as a result, with only one person surviving. The morning had been blustery and somewhat blinded by receding rainfall and wind. All the same, John Lerro as the harbor pilot had decided to let the ship through. The Summit Venture hit one of the anchor piers before hitting the cantilevered bridge’s main supporting pier. Resultantly, nearly half a mile of concrete and steel which had made up the Sunshine Skyway Bridge’s south span broke down and disappeared into the water. Bartlett (2011) divulges that above the ship, Wesley Macintyre was driving his pickup truck which resultantly plunged 100 feet, into the bay. Interestingly, Macintyre unlike many others survived. Right behind MacIntyre’s pickup truck was the aforementioned Greyhound bus which carried 25 passengers. The events that surrounded the accident transpired too fast for the Greyhound Bus to slow down or brake. It veered off the precipice, slammed down into the water. Thus, the pickup truck, the six cars and the Greyhound Bus crushed into the bay on this fateful morning and claimed thirty-five lives. It was only Richard Hornbuckle’s Buick Skylark which managed to stop, just inches from the edge of the bridge. So far, almost everyone who was involved in the tragedy has passed on. MacIntyre passed on in 1989, followed by John Lerro, Al Ford and Tillie the Toiler have passed on. The Summit Venture has so long exchanged hands. It was renamed Sailor 1 before being sold to a Greek company. It was then sold to a company in Singapore and renamed the KS Harmony and is presently believed to be operating in the Caribbean. Reasons behind the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Disaster The Sunshine Skyway Bridge Disaster was merely a culmination of the act of nature, human factors (or error) and construction problems. The act of nature is seen in the fact that the antecedent factor to the accident was the weather which had been rainy, misty and thereby defeating the visibility of Tampa Bay. The fact that the harbor pilot, John Lerro had decided to let the ship through despite the foggy weather and the heavily clouded vision. Perhaps this was not the first time that the Summit Venture and any other suchlike large vessel were making it through Tampa Bay and in Lerro’s mind, this would be a normal feat. The permission from Lerro to have the Summit Venture pass through the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the phase of the foul weather and poor visibility would serve as an occasion for the Summit Venture to disastrously hit the two spans of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge which was guarding the entry point of the bay. From the outset, it should be admitted that the proportion of the cable-stayed main span to the entire bridge in itself was good and stable. This is the case as the main span’s total length was 21,877 feet (about 6.7 kilometers). That the main span was also strong is a matter that cannot be gainsaid since it was a construction of concrete and steel. The steel cables were also made of 84 9-inch strong steel tubes. These steel tubes ran along the center line of the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge to support the main span. However, it should also be admitted that construction and design problem also came into play in the destruction of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. There are experts who are convinced that the manner in which the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge was designed and constructed aggravated the situation, in as much as the impact of the Summit Venture’s collision was heavy. Particularly, the bridge had a lot of weight and importance concentrated in a cable-stayed main span. Instead, there should have been the installment of three cable-stayed main spans to even out the weight of the bridge. The import of the above is seen in the fact that when the Summit Venture hit the main span, the entire structure tumble down. This should not have been the case. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge should have been graced with three cable-stayed main spans so that if one main span is hit, the other two bear the weight of the bridge. Indeed, making the presence of three main spans a reality so as to support a bridge long enough to cover the entire Tampa Bay is safer, compared to a single main span (Isyumov, 2012). What informs the standpoint taken above is that in civil engineering and architecture, structures are built with the strongest threats or catastrophes in mind. The structures are then made with their strength being predicated upon the maximal vehemence of any possible disaster. In this light, it should have been the duty of the constructors to consider the possibility of the main span being hit by a vessel or an object as heavy as 100,000 metric tons. This is because cargoes such as the Summit Venture were carrying cargoes as heavy as 15,000 metric tons. In fact, on the fateful day, the Summit Venture was carrying 10,000 metric tons of phosphate, 78 metric tons of fuel, and a draft of 27 fleet. Seeing that it is impossible to have any span strong enough to withstand a collision with an object so heavy as the Summit Venture, it is important to have several structures that can prop up the bridge in case one main span is knocked down (Isyumov, 2012). Parties Involved Behind the Disaster There are several parties that were behind the disaster. According to Corley and Davis (2001), one of the parties is John Lerro, the harbor pilot who was serving on the fateful day and decided to let the ship through, despite the rainy weather and the clouded vision that had covered the entire Tampa Bay. John Lerro was supposed to take the duty of care that was vested upon him by the Florida authorities. Since it is true that the captain of the Summit Venture was not able to see through the surroundings in Tampa Bay, Lerro should have restrained the Summit Venture from passing through the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Again, if the issue that has been addressed to the effect that there should have been other spans to support the main span, then the constructors should also be held liable for sloppy designing and construction. References Bartlett, F.M. (2011). Tribute/Homage. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 38 (9), 5 Corley, G. W. and Davis, A G. (2001). Forensic engineering moves forward. Civil Engineering, 71 (6), 64 Isyumov, N. (2012). Alan G. Davenports mark on wind engineering. Journal of Wind Engineering & Industrial Aerodynamics, 104-106 (3), 12 - 24 Read More