NTSB calls for safety inspections of 68 bridges nationwide, including 3 in New Jersey
The NTSB wants those responsible for the bridges to be sure they are safe from a potential strike from a container ship.
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The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for the inspection of 68 bridges across the country to be evaluated for collapse risk.
The NTSB wants those responsible for the bridges to be sure they are safe from a potential strike from a container ship.
Three of those structures are in New Jersey.
One of those named is the Casciano Bridge, which handles container ships using nearby Port Newark and Port Elizabeth.
The others are the Outerbridge Crossing and the Commodore Barry Bridge.
The agency’s comments are part of a report on the collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore after one of the bridge’s piers was hit by a ship called the Dali one year ago.
The NTSB found that the collapse could have been avoided if safety measures were taken by the Maryland Transportation Authority.
“The MDTA would’ve been able to identify strategies to reduce the risk of a collapse and loss of lives associated with the vessel collision with the bridge," said Chairman Jennifer Homendy.
Six people working on the bridge lost their lives in that collapse.
The Port Authority, which oversees the bridges in New Jersey and New York, responded by saying the risk of collision is low.
It added in a statement, "Container ships like the Dali do not pass under the Outerbridge Crossing, Goethals, or George Washington bridges, and the vessels that do pass underneath are one-third the tonnage and 400 feet shorter than the Dali."
The NTSB report recommended that the 68 bridges on the list may “need to implement countermeasures to reduce the bridges’ vulnerability.”
