WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Two thirds of the 4,000 bridges in the United States that allow ships to pass under them lack functional pier protection against being hit and potentially demolished by collisions, US Senator Tom Carper said in a hearing on Wednesday.
“After the collapse of the Key Bridge it came to light that of the 4,000 bridges in the United States that allow ships to pass under them, two thirds lack fundamental pier protection,” Carper told the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
The Key Bridge in the Port of Baltimore collapsed on March 26 after being hit by a cargo ship. Six construction workers on the bridge were killed and the port had to be closed for repairs for the next two months, disrupting the US industrial supply chain.
The 700-feet-wide, 50-feet-deep Fort McHenry Channel spanned by the bridge was reopened on June 10 after being restored by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
