Reports in early 2000s found weaknesses on five Maryland bridges, including Francis Scott Key Bridge, that could be impacted by ships; countermeasures to mitigate destruction were suggested but not acted upon such as feasibility study for pier protection

August 13, 2024 (press release) –

Reports commissioned by the state of Maryland in the early 2000s identified potential weaknesses of some bridges, including the possibility of a "ship impact" at the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The studies, done after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, focused on five bridges in Maryland. Countermeasures to mitigate potential intentional destruction and a "feasibility study" for "pier protection" were recommended. Decades later, the Key Bridge was destroyed by the 984-foot containership named the Dali, killing six construction workers and leaving the shipping channel blocked for months. Insufficient protection for increasingly larger ships was raised in these reports, but no action was taken. - Original Article by Transport Topics ["Anatomy of a Collapse: Early 2000s Reports Identified Key Bridge’s Vulnerability to Ship Impact"](https://www.ttnews.com/articles/anatomy-collapse-early-2000s-reports-identified-key-bridges-vulnerability-ship-impact)

Industry Intelligence editor's note: Information originally published in Transport Topics. To view the full article, please visit https://www.ttnews.com/articles/maryland-study-Key-Bridge.

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.