The NTSB on Thursday issued an urgent recommendation that bridges across 19 states be assessed for how vulnerable they are to a ship strike, saying that had Maryland performed one for Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, it might still be standing.
In a press conference where the agency released preliminary factual information about its ongoing investigation into the bridge’s collapse last March, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy urged 30 owners of 68 bridges across 19 states to conduct a vulnerability study in accordance with guidance established by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).
The Francis Scott Key Bridge was among the bridges that hadn’t had an assessment done. Homendy said that the bridge’s risk profile was nearly 30 times the accepted risk level for critical bridges, according to AASHTO’s guidance.
If an assessment had been done, the Maryland state agency that operates the bridge “would have known the risk and could have taken action to safeguard the Key Bridge,” Homendy said. “Had they done that, the collapse could have been prevented.”
