<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1lAjEp_0wFBz2EF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1lAjEp_0wFBz2EF00" width="1200" height="800" ><figcaption>Design by Maisie Derlega.</figcaption></figure>“I heard what happened. I’m so sorry, are you OK?”“What are you talking about?”“That bridge in Maryland. Did you know anyone on it?”This was an actual conversation I had with a friend after the Baltimore bridge incident last semester because apparently, I know everyone in Maryland.On March 26, 2024, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed when a ship hit it, killing six roadwork crew members and shutting down the 15th largest port in America. Over the next four years, reconstruction costs are set to reach somewhere between $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion.When the infamous disaster occurred earlier this year, memes circulated like wildfire. I got more questions about Maryland than I had that entire school year prior. Videos of the collapse went viral on all forms of social media, with the image of the bent bridge shocking the masses. Famous podcaster and self-proclaimed “alpha male” Andrew Tate went on X to share his opinion on how the ship was supposedly cyber-attacked: “black swan event imminent.” Needless to say, this bridge mania sparked news, memes and conspiracies.But the Maryland bridge mayhem doesn’t stop there. There has been unprecedented, longstanding Chesapeake Bay Bridge lore since its very inception. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge, just 20 miles away from the Key Bridge, is notorious for its perceived danger. Many engineering experts have determined that the Bay Bridge is one of the most vulnerable as far as possible ship collision protection. In fact, people are so terrified to drive over the bridge that there are services who will do it for you. The Kent Island Express has been in business for more than 20 years, asking customers to pay either $40 in cash or $50 in credit to meet with a driver at an entrance and let them take the wheel. The Kent Island Express averages 12 to 15 customers a day, and since the Baltimore bridge collapse, there has been a 10 to 15% increase in requests.There are even repeat customers, with one man requesting services twice a day to go back and forth. The Kent Island Express also creates eye masks for customers who are too terrified to even look out the window, with jocular sayings on the front like “Fuck That Bridge” and “Not Lookin.”This time-lapsed YouTube video of someone driving over the Bay Bridge has amassed more than 500,000 views. Anyone unfamiliar with this bridge can get a pretty good idea based on some of these comments:“I drove across this bridge when i was a teenager in the early 2000’s during a crazy storm, i just knew my life was over, it was a relief to make it across.”“Apparently, God still wants me alive because I’m not sure what would have happened in the tunnel. You cant see it from this video but giant tractor-trailers come straight at you with only a few inches to spare from their lane to yours. They have about 1 inch before the roof of the truck hits the top of the tunnel. They rarely do the speed limit and ride your ass the entire way. It’s scary as hell.”“I can’t drive through the tunnel anymore. I get panic attacks.”“I just drove across it for the first time today 1-17-22 from NYC, I was mesmerized.” “At times its like your driving on water”And my personal favorite, from just one month ago:“Papa took me across me and my brother in a early 90s thunderbird ill never forget…he told us that the walls was gonna cave in and be swept out Into the ocean and I havent been back since I stay my ass on dry land …”Wise choice, Derek-r4v.As a coastal state, Maryland is known for blue crabs and old bay seasoning. But every shore needs a bridge. And if it has anything, Maryland has some crazy bridges.Daily Arts Writer Tara Wasik can be reached at tarawas@umich.edu</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

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Maryland and bridges; water and oil

“I heard what happened. I’m so sorry, are you OK?”. “That bridge in Maryland. Did you know anyone on it?”. This was an actual conversation I had with a friend after the Baltimore bridge incident last semester because apparently, I know everyone in Maryland. On March 26, 2024, the...