Economic impact of Baltimore bridge collapse could be felt in Boston, expert says

BOSTON - The collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday could have an economic impact in Boston and beyond, an expert told WBZ-TV.

Baltimore is the tenth biggest port in the United States. Jay Zagorsky of Boston University's Questrom School of Business said many imports pass through there and the bridge collapse could lead to an increase in some prices.

"It imports a lot of cars, it imports a lot of heavy equipment, bulldozers and cranes, and for you and I, it imports a lot of coffee and sugar," said Zagorsky. "People here in Boston, we're going to see a small uptick but I don't think it's going to be a big problem here in the city of Boston."

Shifting shipments of bombs and tanks

It's not just imports to consider either. The port of Baltimore is a major exporter of military hardware.

"About 17% of all the bombs that went to fund the Ukraine war last year left from the port of Baltimore," said Zagorsky. "And you can send it from other ports but, once again, do we really want bombs or tanks being driven over the U.S. highways going to ports that are further away from the Washington D.C. area."

Massport said while Boston could take more ships and cargo, it's likely the majority of vessels will be diverted to Virginia, New York and New Jersey. It's unknown how long it will be before ships are able to access the port of Baltimore again.

Could a similar collapse happen in Massachusetts?

Local officials are paying close attention, as the Tobin Bridge connecting Boston and Chelsea and the Braga Bridge in Fall River are the most similar in eastern Massachusetts to the Key Bridge.

"This is going to be a long process to determine what exactly went wrong in Baltimore, we are going to be monitoring it very, very closely," said Jonathan Gulliver, the MassDOT highway administrator.

The head of the engineering department at the University of New Hampshire, Dr. Erin Bell, said there are differences though, as the Tobin has a cantilever truss, which is designed to disperse shock.

"So if you lose one side, you don't lose the whole thing. This bridge, because it was a through truss, that doesn't happen, which is what we saw."