The National Transportation Safety Board has identified 68 bridges across 19 states that may be at risk of collapse, following “vulnerability assessments.”
In a new report, the NTSB identified bridges with “unknown levels” of collapse risk including famous landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in California, and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
The report and subsequent recommendations come as part of the ongoing investigation into the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March 2024, which occurred after the Dali containership collided with the structure.
Over the last year 68 bridges have been identified as being built before 1991 and without a “current vulnerability assessment.”
The report urged the bridge owners to calculate whether the probability of a bridge collapse from a vessel collision is above the acceptable risk threshold established by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
“If so, we urge them to develop and implement a risk reduction plan that includes input from the interdisciplinary team, identifies short- and long-term strategies to reduce risk, and considers the safety of the vessels and structures in the waterways,” the report stated.
The recommendations have been issued to 30 owners of the different bridges across the country, the bureau announced on Thursday.
Seven bridges were located in California, mostly in the Bay Area – including the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Thirteen were named in New York state, including the Brooklyn Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge and the Manhattan bridge.
Bridges in need of inspection were also identified in Delaware (3), Florida (2), Georgia (1), Illinois (1), Maryland (3), Massachusetts (4), Michigan (1), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (2), Ohio (6), Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (4), Rhode island (1), Texas (7), Washington (1) and Wisconsin (1).
A full list can be found in Appendix B of the NTSB report.
The bureau noted that the findings does not suggest that the 68 bridges are certain to collapse, only in need of assessment under AASHTO standards.
On Thursday, federal investigators said that the Maryland Transportation Authority failed to complete a recommended vulnerability assessment that would have shown the Francis Scott Key Bridge was at significant risk of collapse from a ship strike long before its demise.
The NTSB found that the Key Bridge was almost 30 times greater than the acceptable risk threshold for critical or essential bridges.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said Maryland officials have had decades to assess their bridges. She said they still haven’t assessed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge even after last year’s collapse.
“There’s no excuse,” she said.
