It was so sad and shocking to hear this news. We were in the mountains in NEw Mexico, off grid, and we got a lot of unexpected snow so we decided to pack up the Airstream and head back down the mountain yesterday afternoon. When Jamie started up the truck, he heard the news and came to tell me. We didn’t get more until a couple of hours later when we regained cell service, but I had loads of messages and social media was full of the video. The video made me gasp and then tear up.
I’ve driven over that bridge a hundred times or more, even though I never had much reason to travel on that part of the beltway. This bridge has been part of the Baltimore Beltway since the mid 1970s, and is major alternate route to I-95 when it is jammed. There are going to be a lot of traffic snarls to come. And of course, the damage to the shipping lane is huge.
Mostly though I am so sad for the families of those workers who were not able to evacuate the bridge in time. Im glad more lives were spared by the quick mayday response, but those six lives are an awful loss.
I could see the bridge in the distance from the window of my studio. And I could often see it in the distance from various places along the Chesapeake bay. It is a gaping wound to so many people I know, who have seen it from their homes every day for decades.
Thanks, everyone, for the good thoughts. I’m thankful also for the strong leadership that showed up yesterday — Mayor Scott, Governor Moore, Secretary Buttigieg, and President Biden — for strong, compassionate responses to the tragedy.
