(Reuters) – The collapse of Baltimore’s Key Bridge has brought attention to the urgent need for better protections for the piers that support bridges over shipping channels. Engineers emphasize the importance of updating safety measures as cargo ships continue to increase in size.
An investigation is ongoing into why a massive cargo ship lost power and crashed into a pier of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, resulting in its collapse and the tragic death of six workers who were working on maintenance. The Maryland Transportation Authority has not provided information on the protections in place for the bridge’s foundation piers or if updates were necessary.
Erin Bell, a bridge engineering expert from the University of New Hampshire, stressed the need for improvement in construction codes following the Key Bridge collapse. She emphasized the responsibility of engineers to learn from failures to enhance safety measures.
The Key Bridge, like many others in the U.S., is classified as “fracture critical,” which means that the collapse of one part could lead to the entire structure falling. According to the Federal Highway Administration, there are over 16,800 such bridges in the country.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg acknowledged that the Key Bridge was not designed to withstand a direct impact from a vessel as massive as the cargo ship that collided with it.
However, experts like Bell raise questions about what safety measures could have prevented the accident or mitigated the impact to protect the bridge’s foundation. The design of the Key Bridge dates back to 1977, prior to a similar tragedy at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Florida that prompted enhanced protections for bridge foundations.
Engineering solutions like beefy fenders, pilings known as “dolphins,” or natural barriers such as rock formations could have potentially prevented the collision. Bell highlighted the lack of retrofitting for the Key Bridge compared to ongoing upgrades at nearby bridges.
Forensic structural engineer Donald Dusenberry noted the absence of a robust defensive system around the Key Bridge’s piers based on available photos. He emphasized the need for protective structures that can absorb the energy from a ship impact to safeguard the foundation.
Until the National Transportation Safety Board concludes its investigation, experts like Dusenberry emphasize the necessity of strong protective structures to prevent ship collisions with critical bridge piers. Engineering professor Rachel Sangree from Johns Hopkins University expressed sympathy for the victims of the accident and emphasized the importance of understanding the cause of the cargo ship’s power failure.
The collapse of the Key Bridge serves as a tragic reminder of the potential risks associated with inadequate protections for bridge piers in the face of increasingly large vessels navigating shipping channels. Engineers and authorities stress the need for proactive measures to enhance the safety of critical infrastructure and prevent similar incidents in the future.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Longmont, Colorado; Additional reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington. Editing by Donna Bryson and Alistair Bell)
