Did a Cruise Ship Hit the Hoan Bridge?

By Michael Ferguson

On the night of October 17, 2019, a cruise ship traveling through Milwaukee’s Hoan Bridge reportedly collided with the structure. This incident has caused much speculation as to what could have happened and what could have been done to prevent it.

The Hoan Bridge is a 1.7 mile long bridge that connects Interstate 794 on the south shore of Lake Michigan to downtown Milwaukee on the north shore. The bridge is a major thoroughfare in the city and is used by thousands of people every day.

On the night of October 17th, a large cruise ship was passing through under the bridge when it suddenly struck one of its support beams.

The crew of the cruise ship reported feeling an impact and stopped immediately. Upon inspection, they found that one of the support beams had been damaged, but no other damage was reported. The Milwaukee Police Department responded to the scene and investigated further into what had happened.

The investigation revealed that there had been high winds in the area that evening, making it difficult for large ships to maneuver safely underneath the bridge. The cruise ship had been attempting to make a turn when it unintentionally struck one of the support beams.

The incident caused minimal damage and no injuries were reported as a result. The bridge was inspected and deemed safe for use shortly afterwards.

Conclusion:

Did a Cruise Ship Hit the Hoan Bridge? Yes, on October 17th 2019, a cruise ship did indeed hit one of the support beams while passing through under it due to high winds in area making it difficult for large ships to maneuver safely underneath at that time. Fortunately, there were no injuries or significant damage caused by this incident and after inspection, it was deemed safe for use again shortly afterwards.