A tugboat passes beneath the Crescent City Connection bridge near the Port of New Orleans on March 3, 2022. Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Nearly 10,600 vessels safely navigated beneath the Crescent City Connection last year, according to the Port of New Orleans.
Why it matters: The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse outside Baltimore's port yesterday put into sharp relief just how scary it can be when things go wrong.
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.
