A year after a massive vessel hit and caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland, the National Transportation Safety Board is calling for the study of 68 bridges, six of which are in the Bay Area.
The NTSB said that all bridges that experience heavy cargo ship traffic and were built before 1996 should undergo studies to ensure their safety from vessel strikes. The Golden Gate, Richmond, San Rafael, Carquinez, Benicia-Martinez, and San Mateo-Hayward bridges are all included in the NTSB report.
"Establish this whole system, checking these bridges that they have identified," said Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl, professor emeritus of Structural Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.
The Bay Bridge was the only Bay Area bridge exempt from the NTSB report.
Astaneh-Asl, has spent decades teaching structural engineering and studying the Bay Bridge. He said one major problem on the Key Bridge was concrete safety pilings, known as Dolphins, were placed too far apart, allowing the Singaporean vessel to strike.
"The pier was on the right, and the Dolphin was on the left, and it went like a goal in football. [It] hit the right pole," he said.
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The NTSB said Maryland Department of Transportation Administration officials failed to perform recommended risk assessments before the 984-foot cargo ship slammed into the bridge last year.
"Had they run the calculations on the FSK Bridge, the MDTA would have been aware that the bridge was almost 30 times greater than the risk threshold set for critical, essential bridges," said Jennifer Homedy of the NTSB.
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The Golden Gate Bridge District said the bridge has "robust protections" and conducted an assessment, which it will submit to the Federal Highway Administration.
Caltrans said it's evaluating the report and declined to comment until it has had time to assess the NTSB recommendations.
