FARMINGTON, Utah — The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore hits close to home for a man living in Utah.
"Whenever we see a tragedy or something happen, we always think, 'It's not going to happen to us. It's not going to happen to my town, my city,'" said Shawn Parrett.
Parrett and his family moved from Baltimore to Farmington years ago.
"For six years I commuted on that bridge every morning, every night," said Parrett.
"Just like driving on I-15 here. You're going to drive on it sooner or later, if not every day," he added.
When he woke up and watched the video, he was shocked. His brother is a state trooper for the area.
"He let my mother know that they had less than five minutes from when they found out there was an issue to try and get those highways closed," said Parrett.
"It could've been much worse if it would've been during the daytime or even without the advanced warning," said Dr. Marv Halling.
Halling is the director of the Utah Transportation Center at Utah State University. His research specializes in bridges and earthquakes.
"Once you remove one pier, the collapse is not surprising," he said.
Most piers have a bumper to prevent boats from causing major damage, but with a ship this big, a bumper wouldn't have done anything.
"Frankly a moderate-sized fender or pier protection doesn't have much effect against a vessel that large," said Halling.
Halling believes it'll take a minimum of two years to design and build a new bridge.
"It will affect traffic in Washington and the Baltimore area for several years," he said.
