NTSB Warns 68 US Bridges, Including in Washington, at Risk of Collapse

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has warned that two bridges in Washington state, the Lewis and Clark Bridge and the Astoria-Megler Bridge, are at risk of collapsing due to potential ship strikes, similar to the Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster in Maryland that occurred in March 2024. The NTSB's ongoing investigation revealed that 68 bridges across the U.S. are likely not built to current safety standards and have not undergone necessary vulnerability assessments. The Key Bridge collapse, which killed six workers, highlighted critical oversight by the Maryland Transportation Authority, which failed to assess the bridge's risk, finding it nearly 30 times above acceptable thresholds. In response, the NTSB has recommended that federal authorities and bridge owners take immediate action to evaluate and mitigate risks for these at-risk structures. Maryland officials, while acknowledging the NTSB's findings, have defended their previous assessments, attributing the disaster primarily to the negligence of the ship's operators. The report calls for urgent safety measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.