Bus passengers injured in Fort McHenry Tunnel crash, traffic disrupted
A bus rear-ended a tractor-trailer in the Fort McHenry Tunnel, sending 15 people to hospitals and shutting northbound I-95 before sunrise.
A bus crash inside the Fort McHenry Tunnel sent 15 people to hospitals and briefly shut down northbound Interstate 95, disrupting one of Baltimore’s most important commuter and freight routes before sunrise.
Crews were called around 3:30 a.m. Thursday to Bore 4 of the tunnel after the bus rear-ended a tractor-trailer. WBAL-TV 11 News reported that all 15 passengers taken to hospitals had non-life-threatening injuries, and no serious injuries were reported. All lanes reopened around 5:50 a.m., but the closure rippled through a corridor many drivers use to move between South Baltimore and the rest of the harbor crossing network.
The Fort McHenry Tunnel is a high-volume piece of infrastructure that links the Locust Point and Canton areas under the Patapsco River. The Maryland Transportation Authority says the eight-lane tunnel, which opened in November 1985, carries about 45.4 million vehicles in both directions and is the world’s widest underwater-vehicular tunnel. It is also part of the region’s main harbor-crossing network, which makes even a short-lived crash there more than a routine traffic problem.
The tunnel sits inside a tightly controlled corridor. Maryland Transportation Authority materials note hazardous materials restrictions and size and weight limits for both the Fort McHenry Tunnel and the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, reflecting how heavily managed traffic already is in this part of Baltimore. The authority also says the tunnel is part of Interstate 95 from the southern Baltimore City limit into downtown Baltimore, a route that matters for commuters, airport trips, freight movement and weekend travel.
The crash drew an immediate response from the Baltimore City Fire Department and Maryland Transportation Authority Police. In a tunnel, where lanes are confined and traffic has few options to detour, a collision involving a bus and a tractor-trailer can quickly become a citywide delay, even when injuries are not life-threatening. By the time traffic resumed just before 6 a.m., the incident had already reinforced how vulnerable Baltimore’s harbor crossings can be when one vehicle in one bore goes down.
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