The dispatch calls from the Maryland Transportation Authority Police show just how close Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse came to being an even worse disaster.The transcripts of the audio from early Tuesday morning show the police only had a few minutes to shut down the highway as the bridge was on a collision course.A call went out just before 1:28 a.m.:Dispatch: “I need one of you guys on the south side, one of you guys on the north side to hold all traffic on the Key Bridge. There’s a ship approaching, it just lost their steering, so until you get that under control, we got to stop all traffic.”An officer reports that he stops all the outer-loop traffic from entering the bridge shortly after 1:28 a.m.Officer: “I’m holding traffic now. I was driving but we stopped prior to the bridge so I’ll have all outer-loop traffic stopped.”Listen: The minutes prior to the collapse (Audio provided by Broadcastify)Shortly after that call, an officer asks about the construction crew on the bridge.Dispatch: “Is there a crew working on the bridge? … There’s a crew up there. You might want to notify whoever the foreman is, see if we can get them off the bridge temporarily.”Just before 1:29 a.m., an officer declares the inner-loop of the beltway closed and says he will check on the crew.Officer: “All inter-loop traffic is stopped at this time … Once you get here, I’ll go grab the workers on the Key Bridge.”Less than 20 seconds later, the initial call of the collapse comes in.Officer: “C-13 dispatch. The whole bridge just fell down, start whoever, everybody, the whole bridge just collapsed!”Another officer confirmed the collapse, and dispatch attempted to confirm if traffic was stopped.Officer: “That is correct.”Dispatch: “Do we know if all traffic was stopped?”Officer: “I can’t get to the other side; the bridge is down. We’re going to have to get somebody on the other side, Anne Arundel County, MSP, to get up here and stop traffic coming north down on the Key Bridge.”
The dispatch calls from the Maryland Transportation Authority Police show just how close Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse came to being an even worse disaster.
The transcripts of the audio from early Tuesday morning show the police only had a few minutes to shut down the highway as the bridge was on a collision course.
A call went out just before 1:28 a.m.:
Dispatch: “I need one of you guys on the south side, one of you guys on the north side to hold all traffic on the Key Bridge. There’s a ship approaching, it just lost their steering, so until you get that under control, we got to stop all traffic.”
An officer reports that he stops all the outer-loop traffic from entering the bridge shortly after 1:28 a.m.
Officer: “I’m holding traffic now. I was driving but we stopped prior to the bridge so I’ll have all outer-loop traffic stopped.”
Listen: The minutes prior to the collapse (Audio provided by Broadcastify)
Shortly after that call, an officer asks about the construction crew on the bridge.
Dispatch: “Is there a crew working on the bridge? … There’s a crew up there. You might want to notify whoever the foreman is, see if we can get them off the bridge temporarily.”
Just before 1:29 a.m., an officer declares the inner-loop of the beltway closed and says he will check on the crew.
Officer: “All inter-loop traffic is stopped at this time … Once you get here, I’ll go grab the workers on the Key Bridge.”
Less than 20 seconds later, the initial call of the collapse comes in.
Officer: “C-13 dispatch. The whole bridge just fell down, start whoever, everybody, the whole bridge just collapsed!”
Another officer confirmed the collapse, and dispatch attempted to confirm if traffic was stopped.
Officer: “That is correct.”
Dispatch: “Do we know if all traffic was stopped?”
Officer: “I can’t get to the other side; the bridge is down. We’re going to have to get somebody on the other side, Anne Arundel County, MSP, to get up here and stop traffic coming north down on the Key Bridge.”
