Opening up supply chain blockages in the wake of the Baltimore bridge collapse

The impact of the Baltimore bridge collapse on supply chains is as massive as it is obvious. Finding the solutions to repairing the damage is not so simple, according to Bintong Chen, professor of operations management at the University of Delaware.

Pain points include the loss of a major access point to a busy port and international car and truck shipping; a significant dent in commercial trucking (especially hazardous material transportation); and a strain on civilian commuting.

Chen offers two solutions:

• Clear the water way first and quickly so that shipping will resume normally. This is the first priority and should not take long.
• Develop a plan to re-route traffic, as it will take four to five years to build a bridge to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

He proposes the following traffic changes:

• Divert all commercial trucking flow to William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bay Bridge.
• Reduce or remove the toll for night trucking in order to spread the truck flow and reduce the congestion.
• Reduce or remove the toll for the Baltimore tunnel at night for civilian commuting for the same purpose. 

To schedule an interview with Chen, visit his profile and click on the contact button or reach out to the UD Media Relations team.