BUFFALO, N.Y. — When a cargo ship hit a central support of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Tuesday morning, causing the bridge to collapse, questions about similar scenarios circled the country, including Buffalo.
The number of bridges in Western New York you can point to and ask 'Could that happen here' is numerous, from the Skyway to the Peace Bridge, the Grand Island Bridges, and many others.
But are those questions realistic?
2 On Your Side spoke with the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, which manages the Peace Bridge; simply put, it's VERY improbable.
"It's not really realistic at all, it's totally different conditions," said authority General Manager Ron Reinas.
Regarding the Peace Bridge, Reinas said the Niagara River is far too shallow for large ships to pass under it without the use of the Black Rock Canal.
Lake freighters like the H. Lee White, Sam Laud, the Manitoulin, the NACC Argonaut, and the American Mariner which make stops in Buffalo have drafts or draughts before 20 and 30 feet. Draft is the distance between the waterline and the bottom of a ship.
The water depth at the mouth of the Niagara River ranges from 3 feet to around 21 feet meaning any vessel sitting lower would run aground.
Freighters only traverse where the lake has been dredged to exceed the draft of their ship, for example at the entrances and exits for the Black Rock Canal, the Buffalo Harbor, and the Buffalo River.
By extension, any ships that can't make it past the Peace Bridge also wouldn't make it to the Grand Island Bridges or the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge. The rapids below the Rainbow Bridge also aren't traversable by freighter.
Big, Meet Bigger
Lake freighters are large vessels but the cargo ship that caused the Key Bridge collapse is a couple hundred feet longer and about double the width of the ships that visit Buffalo.
Reinas explained that Buffalo isn't a port city like Baltimore that attracts such cargo ships, it can't handle them in most cases.
"These are ocean-going cargo ships that are massive, that come underneath a bridge to enter a port [like Baltimore]. There is no comparison to the Peace Bridge," Reinas said.
1986 Barge Collision
The lake ships that pass under the Peace Bridge do so by way of the Black Rock Canal, which makes it impossible for a vessel to hit the bridge. The canal avoids the Niagara River's current and the high likelihood of running aground.
Reinas recalled one instance when the Peace Bridge was struck, however.
In 1986, a barge broke loose from its tugboat and collided with the Peace Bridge. It bounced off one of the bridge's concrete piers requiring extensive repair and a lengthy removal effort as documented by Channel 2 back in the day.
Stay tuned. We are sifting through our archives in hopes of sharing the aftermath of the 1986 collision with you.
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