Maryland officials failed to test Key Bridge vulnerability

The Maryland Transportation Authority failed to judge the Francis Scott Key Bridge for vulnerability and danger because of collision, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board introduced Thursday.

The March 26, 2024, collapse of the span might probably have been prevented if the MDTA had reviewed the danger and brought corrective motion, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy mentioned throughout a press convention Thursday, practically one yr after the tragedy.

Homendy referred to an evaluation supplied by the American Affiliation of State Freeway and Transportation Officers created in 1991 because of the collapse of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa, Florida, in 1980. AASHTO’s vulnerability evaluation calculator for brand spanking new bridges on the Nationwide Freeway System evaluates the extent of danger for collapse if a span had been struck by a vessel.

Although the Key Bridge was completed in 1977, AASHTO says that its calculator is not only for brand spanking new bridge development and urges house owners to judge current spans constructed earlier than the steering.

However earlier than the Key Bridge collapsed, Maryland officers had by no means carried out the evaluation, so the NTSB needed to analysis the danger after the actual fact. The MDTA has nonetheless not assessed the close by Chesapeake Bay Bridge, in-built 1948, for danger, Homendy mentioned.

“There’s no excuse,” Homendy mentioned.

Upon assessing the span, the NTSB found the Key Bridge’s danger was practically 30 instances higher than the appropriate threshold for important or important bridges, Homendy mentioned.

“We had been very stunned that [the risk numbers] had been excessive,” she mentioned. “Nevertheless it’s one thing MDTA might have recognized and will have recognized.”

Nationwide danger

As well as, Homendy mentioned the NTSB recommends that the owners of 68 bridges throughout 19 states carry out vulnerability assessments and take protecting measures if vital. The bridges had been all constructed earlier than the 1991 AASHTO steering was established and haven’t undergone vulnerability evaluation based mostly on current vessel visitors. Subsequently, they’ve an unknown stage of danger of collapse from a collision.

These spans embody the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York Metropolis and the brand new Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

She emphasised that singling out these bridges doesn’t imply that they’re routinely harmful, merely that their danger must be calculated. By the identical token, different bridges will not be routinely protected from potential hurt, Homendy mentioned, as she cautioned vigilance.

The Key Bridge collapsed when the cargo ship Dali collided with one of the span’s piers. Had the evaluation been carried out, Homendy indicated that the MDTA might have invested in dolphins or different protections to drive fast-moving sea vessels away from the very important help for the bridge.