10,600 vessels passed under Crescent City Connection in 2023

The big picture: The stretch of the Mississippi River between its mouth and Baton Rouge holds four of the top five U.S. ports, by tonnage, according to the Port of New Orleans.

• The port relies on "layered safety measures" to help pilots navigate between Algiers Point and port terminals, including a system that transmits in real time the physical clearance distance between the Mississippi River and the bottom of area bridges.
• The piers of the Crescent City Connection are additionally protected by a fender system, and the Huey P. Long Bridge piers by a bumper system, according to the Louisiana Department of Transportation.

Flashback: A towboat pushing an empty barge in 1993 hit a support pier of the Judge William Seeber Bridge, which crosses the Industrial Canal at Claiborne Avenue.

• The bridge collapsed, and two cars fell into the canal, killing one person, according to the AP.

What's next: It's not yet clear how southeastern Louisiana's ports may be impacted by delays caused by the Baltimore bridge collapse.