Imagine you’re cruising across a bridge – maybe the Golden Gate or the Brooklyn – when a massive ship could bring it down. This isn’t a movie plot – it happened in Baltimore last year, and now the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is raising a red flag. They’ve pinpointed 68 bridges across the U.S. as vulnerable to collapse from vessel strikes. After the deadly Francis Scott Key Bridge incident, they’re pushing for action. Which bridges made the list? Why is this surfacing now? And how does it affect your daily drive? Let’s dive in!
There has been an update – but first let’s get up to speed.
Picture it’s March 26, 2024 – early morning, pitch dark in Baltimore. The Francis Scott Key Bridge, a 1.6-mile lifeline over the Patapsco River, is busy with six construction workers patching potholes. Then, disaster hits. The Dali, a 984-foot container ship loaded with 4,700 containers, loses power leaving the Port of Baltimore. No propulsion, no steering – just a 95,000-ton steel giant drifting. At 1:24 a.m., two electrical failures strike. Despite a desperate mayday call at 1:27, it crashes into a pier at 6.5 knots.
The bridge collapses instantly. Built in 1977, 47 years old, it wasn’t designed for a ship that size. Six workers fall into the icy river; only two survive. The port’s blocked with 50,000 tons of debris, and Baltimore’s economy suffers a $1 billion loss. The NTSB’s investigation revealed this wasn’t a one-off – it could happen again.
Fast forward to March 20, 2025 – nearly a year later. The NTSB announces that 68 bridges across 19 states need urgent “vulnerability assessments” to determine if they can withstand a ship strike. These bridges, all built before 1991, predate modern safety standards and lack updated evaluations. The list includes icons like California’s Golden Gate Bridge, New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, Florida’s Sunshine Skyway, and Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The NTSB focused on spans over major shipping lanes where ship sizes have outgrown original designs.
The NTSB is pressing 30 bridge owners – state DOTs, port authorities, and others – to act within 30 days and assess these structures. Their probe of Key Bridge showed it was 30 times riskier than the safety threshold set by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). This level of danger suggests the 68 others could face similar threats if unchecked.
A bridge’s vulnerability stems from its age, design, and exposure to ship traffic. The Key Bridge, completed in ’77, handled smaller vessels in the 1980s – like one that grazed it in 1980 with minimal damage. Today’s ships, however, are far larger. In the 1970s, they carried 800 containers. Since the Panama Canal expansion in 2016, vessels like the Dali haul up to 24,000 TEUs – massive floating cities bridges weren’t built to endure. The NTSB found the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) never adjusted their risk calculations for these modern giants. AASHTO has required these assessments since 1991 – updated in 2009 after Florida’s Sunshine Skyway fell in 1980, killing 35. Maryland helped craft those rules but didn’t apply them to Key Bridge.
The outcome: a bridge 30 times past the danger line, unnoticed until it was too late. Now, the NTSB’s list – 68 pre-1991 bridges over busy waterways – faces the same risk without proper scrutiny. Spans like Louisiana’s Huey P. Long and Massachusetts’ Tobin are critical routes used daily.
A vulnerability assessment uses a mathematical model, factoring in ship size, speed, traffic patterns, and bridge strength to produce a risk score. If it exceeds AASHTO’s limit, solutions like pier reinforcements or tugboat escorts can lower the danger. New bridges have followed this federal mandate since 1994, but many older ones remain untested – until now.
The NTSB doesn’t claim these 68 will fail tomorrow. Golden Gate’s owners hired consultants in 2025, and New York’s DOT notes the East River rarely sees Dali-sized ships. Still, the risk persists. Since 2021, over 300 ships lost propulsion in U.S. waters, often near bridges. The Key Bridge collapse serves as a stark warning, with six lives lost and broader consequences possible.
Retrofitting bridges with pier reinforcements or tugboat escorts could cost millions per structure. The new Key Bridge carries a price tag of $1.7 to $1.9 billion, largely federally funded, with completion set for 2028. If several of the 68 bridges fail, losses could climb into the billions, disrupting ports like Long Beach or Miami and hammering national trade. Maryland’s MDTA argues the Dali’s owners bear responsibility, citing negligence. They settled with the Justice Department for $102 million in October 2024 after evidence of poor maintenance – faulty transformers and disabled backups.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy countered Maryland’s stance: “You had decades to assess this. You didn’t have the data – we did the work ourselves.” Owners of the 68 bridges must respond within 30 days – some, like MassDOT, are already acting. Others remain uncertain.
For your commute, crossing one of these 68 – like the Verrazzano-Narrows or Sunshine Skyway – means staying alert. Near-term changes might include stricter tugboat requirements or adjusted shipping lanes. Over time, bridges could become stronger and costlier, or detours might emerge if closures occur. The NTSB is urging the Coast Guard, Army Corps, and Federal Highway Administration to coordinate with owners.
Bridges aren’t invincible. The Key Bridge collapse disrupted Baltimore traffic for months – a scenario that could repeat in San Francisco or NYC. Six families lost loved ones; preventing that again matters. This is about more than steel and concrete – it’s your route, your safety.
The NTSB has sounded the alarm on 68 U.S. bridges after the Key Bridge tragedy exposed the stakes. From California to Florida, these spans need evaluation before another ship turns a simple drive into a disaster.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced this week that there is nearly $4.9 billion in available funding for major bridge projects through the Bridge Investment Program, and up to $500 million for repairing or replacing bridges in rural areas through the Competitive Highway Bridge Program. The funding opportunity presented by Sean Duffy, removes woke Biden-era requirements that tied critical infrastructure funding to social justice and Green New Scam climate initiatives. Said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy
This announcement will help address the tens of thousands of bridges across the country – including approximately 42,000 bridges in poor condition – that are in dire need of repair. Bridges are an essential part of the nation’s infrastructure because of the vital economic role they play in moving America’s commerce. Let’s start rebuilding America and its roads for all drivers.
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Lauren Fix is an automotive expert and journalist covering industry trends, policy changes, and their impact on drivers nationwide.
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