Major US Bridges Face High Risk of Catastrophic Hits From Ships

When the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed one year ago in Baltimore, Maryland, it renewed attention on a terrifying vulnerability facing America’s aging bridges as the commercial shipping fleet grows in both size and volume.

The March 26 event was widely seen as the result of an unlikely cascade of failures: The huge container ship Dali, fully loaded and outbound from the Port Baltimore, lost power and propulsion at a critical moment, causing the out-of-control vessel to ram into one of the Key Bridge’s support piers. Moments later, the bridge’s 1,200-foot long main span tumbled into the waterway below. Six members of a road crew working ...