The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) An alarm sounded during a press conference on Thursday and warned 30 owners of 68 bridges in 19 states to perform vulnerability reviews to determine the risk that a bridge will collapse because they are hit by a ship.
The NTSB also quoted the lack of an assessment of a Maryland State Authority that may have prevented the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
The 984-boet Singapore-Vlagvrachtvaig Dali moved out Baltimore Haven March 26, 2024, when it experienced a loss of electric current and propulsion and the southern pier struck the central truss stress of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on the Patapco River.
The Bridge collapsedThe killing of six members of the construction crew members and the injuries of two other people.
The Dali cargo ship is stuck under a part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the ship hit the bridge on March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)
NTSB -Chairman Jennifer Homendy said on Thursday that the most important bridge was almost 30 times above the “acceptable risk threshold” for critical or essential bridges, according to the supervision of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials (AASHTO).
While the bridges that have not been evaluated are not certain to collapse, the NTSB said: “Had the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) carried out a vulnerability assessment on the most important bridge on the basis of recent ship traffic, MDTA would have been aware that the most important bridge was outside the acceptable risk and had information to proactively reduce the risk of the bridge of a collapse and the loss of lives with the bridge with the bridge. “
“To be honest, we have received an alarm about this since the tragedy took place,” HomanDy said. “We need action. Public safety depends on it.”
In this aerial photo, a steel truss of the destroyed Francis Scott Key Bridge has set up the container ship Dali in place in the Patapsco River River on 13 May 2024 in Baltimore. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty images)
The NTSB In the past year, 68 bridges identified that were set before Aashto guidelines that do not have current vulnerability assessment.
The NTSB recommends that the 30 bridge owners evaluate or their bridges are above the Aashto Acceptable Risk level and, if so, develop and implement an extensive risk reduction plan.
AASHTO developed and published the calculation of the vulnerability assessment for new bridges on the National Highway System in 1991 in response to the NTSB research into the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapses in Florida.
Explosive costs are exploded to bring down sections of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge on 13 May 2024 in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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At the time, Aashto also ordered that all bridge owners perform a vulnerability assessment on existing bridges to “evaluate their risk of catastrophic collapse in the case of a vessel collision.”
Tens of years later, in 2009, Aashto repeated that recommendation again.
Since 1994, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) needed that new bridges have been designed to minimize the risk of a catastrophic bridge collision of a vessel collision, “in view of the size, speed and other characteristics of ships under the bridge under the bridge,” said the NTSB.
Wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge is based on the container ship Dali while President Joe Biden makes an air tour through the collapsed bridge in Baltimore on April 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Cneta)
Homanendy added that the NTSB also recommends the FHWA, American coastguard And US Army Corps of Engineers set up an “interdisciplinary team” to offer guidance and help bridging owners in evaluating and reducing the risk.
Reducing the risk can mean infrastructure improvements or operational changes according to the NTSB.
The NTSB will also publish more than 1,000 pages of research material on the public docket on Thursday, including the Bridge report and some interviews.
These 3D images shows the wreck of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that lies on the bottom of the Patapco River. (US Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command Supervisor of Salvage and Diving)
Next week, the NTSB is planning to release the dangerous materials, meteorological and survival factors and an investigation of the Office of Engineering on Schenfree increases and associated safety risks.
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Voyage Data Recorder Audio transcripts and associated data will follow, in the run -up to the NTSB that releases its final report, which will probably happen in the fall.
The MDTA did not immediately respond to FOX News Digital for comments on Thursday afternoon.
