NTSB recommends vulnerability assessments on 68 bridges following Key Bridge collapse
Nearly a year since the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after a container ship struck one of its piers, the National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that the owners of nearly 70 bridges across the United States conduct vulnerability assessments of the risk of collapse from a vessel collision.
Such an assessment could have prevented the deadly Key Bridge collapse, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said Thursday.
If the Maryland Transportation Authority had conducted a vulnerability assessment, it "would have known the risk and could have taken action to safeguard the Key Bridge," Homendy said during a press briefing announcing the recommendation.
"Had they done that, the collapse could have been prevented," she said.
Homendy said the MDTA was unable to provide the NTSB with the data needed to conduct the agency's own vulnerability assessment of the Key Bridge.
"We asked them for that data," Homendy said. "They didn't have it. We had to develop that data ourselves, with the help of our federal partners at the Federal Highway Administration."
The MDTA said in response that the collapse of the Key Bride was the fault of the container ship, Dali.
"The MDTA maintains the catastrophe and the tragic loss of life was the sole fault of the Dali and the gross negligence of her owners and operators who put profits above safety," the MDTA said.
"Over the past 50 years, hundreds of thousands of vessels transited under the Key Bridge without incident. The Key Bridge, like other bridges in America, was approved and permitted by the federal government and in compliance with those permits," it added.
The MDTA said it is reviewing the NTSB's recommendations and will provide an update within 30 days, as requested, that will "include any action we intend to take based on our active evaluation of the pier protection systems, operational changes, and vessel transit procedures" of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, one of the bridges the NTSB recommended undergo vulnerability assessments.
Homendy said the vulnerability assessments were recommended to bridge owners by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials twice: in 1991 and then in 2009.
The Federal Highway Administration started requiring vulnerability assessments of new bridges in 1994, the NTSB said. The Key Bridge was built before that requirement.
The 68 bridges that the NTSB recommends for assessment are those designed before the guidance was established and do not have a current vulnerability assessment, the NTSB said.
In addition to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland, they include iconic landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in California, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York and the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan.
"Today's report does not suggest that the 68 bridges are certain to collapse," the NTSB said in a press release Thursday. "The NTSB is recommending that these 30 bridge owners evaluate whether the bridges are above the AASHTO acceptable level of risk. The NTSB recommended that bridge owners develop and implement a comprehensive risk reduction plan, if the calculations indicate a bridge has a risk level above the AASHTO threshold."
The container ship Dali struck one of the piers on the Key Bridge early on the morning of March 26, 2024, triggering the bridge to collapse and killing six construction workers who were filling potholes on it. Two other workers survived the incident.
The crash affected entry into the Port of Baltimore for weeks as the debris blocked entry for other ships. Dozens of federal, state and local agencies responded to remove approximately 50,000 tons of steel, concrete and asphalt from the channel and from the Dali.
A preliminary report released by the NTSB in May found that the Dali experienced two power blackouts while docked, 10 hours before the collision that toppled part of a bridge span.
The NTSB said Thursday its final report on the Key Bridge collapse will be released this fall.
