Nearly one year after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse due to a vessel collision, the NTSB urges owners of 68 U.S. bridges to conduct vulnerability assessments. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy noted that had such an assessment been carried out by the Maryland Transportation Authority, the collapse might have been avoided. The NTSB faced challenges obtaining necessary data from the MDTA for their assessment. Previously, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recommended similar assessments in 1991 and 2009, emphasizing the need for safety measures on older bridges built before 1994.
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.
Homendy emphasized that had proper vulnerability assessments been in place, the catastrophic collapse of the Key Bridge could have been prevented.
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 68 bridges that the NTSB recommends for assessment are those designed before the guidance was established and do not have a current vulnerability assessment.
#bridge-safety #ntsb-recommendations #infrastructure #vulnerability-assessments #transportation-safety
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