The Maryland Transportation Authority failed to guage the Francis Scott Key Bridge for vulnerability and danger on account of collision, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board introduced Thursday.
The March 26, 2024, collapse of the span might doubtlessly have been prevented if the MDTA had reviewed the chance and brought corrective motion, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy stated 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 on account of the collapse of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa, Florida, in 1980. AASHTO’s vulnerability evaluation calculator for brand new bridges on the Nationwide Freeway System evaluates the extent of danger for collapse if a span have been struck by a vessel.
Although the Key Bridge was completed in 1977, AASHTO says that its calculator is not only for brand new bridge building and urges homeowners to guage present 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 chance after the very fact. The MDTA has nonetheless not assessed the close by Chesapeake Bay Bridge, in-built 1948, for danger, Homendy stated.
“There’s no excuse,” Homendy stated.
Upon assessing the span, the NTSB found the Key Bridge’s danger was practically 30 instances larger than the suitable threshold for essential or important bridges, Homendy stated.
“We have been very shocked that [the risk numbers] have been excessive,” she stated. “Nevertheless it’s one thing MDTA might have recognized and may have recognized.”
Nationwide danger
As well as, Homendy stated the NTSB recommends that the homeowners of 68 bridges throughout 19 states carry out vulnerability assessments and take protecting measures if vital. The bridges have been all constructed earlier than the 1991 AASHTO steering was established and haven’t undergone vulnerability evaluation primarily based on latest vessel site visitors. Subsequently, they’ve an unknown degree 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 mechanically harmful, merely that their danger must be calculated. By the identical token, different bridges will not be mechanically protected from potential hurt, Homendy stated, as she cautioned vigilance.
The Key Bridge collapsed when the cargo ship Dali collided with one of many 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.
