Philadelphia-area bridges among 68 in US that NTSB recommends assessing for risk

BALTIMORE (WPVI) -- Nearly a year since the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after a container ship struck one of its piers, the National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that the owners of nearly 70 bridges across the United States, including some in the Philadelphia region, conduct vulnerability assessments of the risk of collapse from a vessel collision.

Such an assessment could have prevented the deadly Key Bridge collapse, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said Thursday.

SEE ALSO: Operators of vessel that destroyed Baltimore's Key Bridge to pay nearly $102M: DOJ

The 68 bridges that the NTSB recommends for assessment are those designed before the guidance was established and do not have a current vulnerability assessment, the NTSB said.

They include iconic landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in California, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Virginia, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York and the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan.

"Today's report does not suggest that the 68 bridges are certain to collapse," the NTSB said in a press release Thursday. "The NTSB is recommending that these 30 bridge owners evaluate whether the bridges are above the AASHTO acceptable level of risk. The NTSB recommended that bridge owners develop and implement a comprehensive risk reduction plan, if the calculations indicate a bridge has a risk level above the AASHTO threshold."

READ MORE: Here's what surprised a Drexel University professor about the Baltimore bridge collapse

The Delaware River Turnpike Bridge, which connects Burlington Township, Burlington County to Bristol Township, Bucks County, is on the NTSB's list.

As is the Delaware River Port Authority, which manages the Ben Franklin, Walt Whitman, Commodore Barry and Betsy Ross bridges.

Philadelphia-area bridge classifications for unknown levels of risk of collapse from a vessel collision, according to NTSB:

• Delaware River Turnpike Bridge (built in 1956): Critical/Essential


• Walt Whitman Bridge (built in 1957): Critical/Essential


• Benjamin Franklin Bridge (built in 1926): Critical/Essential


• Betsy Ross Bridge (built in 1976): Typical


• Commodore Barry Bridge (built in 1974): Typical

But there is one major difference between Baltimore's Key Bridge and any of the bridges that span the Delaware River.

"All of our bridges have protection systems in place to prevent ships from striking them," John Hanson, CEO of The Delaware River Port Authority, previously told Action News.

Hanson said the key difference sits in the Delaware River near the bridge support piers - structures called dolphins.

"When you talk about the Betsy Ross Bridge, we have concrete dolphins that are protected against ships, that will prevent a ship from striking the pier," said Hanson.

If the Maryland Transportation Authority had conducted a vulnerability assessment, it "would have known the risk and could have taken action to safeguard the Key Bridge," Homendy said during a press briefing announcing the recommendation.

"Had they done that, the collapse could have been prevented," she said, adding that the Key Bridge was almost 30 times above the acceptable risk threshold for critical or essential bridges.

Homendy said the MDTA was unable to provide the NTSB with the data needed to conduct the agency's own vulnerability assessment of the Key Bridge.

"We asked them for that data," Homendy said. "They didn't have it. We had to develop that data ourselves, with the help of our federal partners at the Federal Highway Administration."

RELATED: Families of Baltimore bridge collapse victims taking legal action against ship owner

The container ship Dali struck one of the piers on the Key Bridge early on the morning of March 26, 2024, triggering the bridge to collapse and killing six construction workers who were filling potholes on it. Two other workers survived the incident.

The crash affected entry into the Port of Baltimore for weeks as the debris blocked entry for other ships. Dozens of federal, state and local agencies responded to remove approximately 50,000 tons of steel, concrete and asphalt from the channel and from the Dali.

A preliminary report released by the NTSB in May found that the Dali experienced two power blackouts while docked, 10 hours before the collision that toppled part of a bridge span.

The NTSB said Thursday its final report on the Key Bridge collapse will be released this fall.

The full list of bridge owners receiving the NTSB's recommendation includes the following:

• The Bay Area Toll Authority


• Caltrans


• Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District


• US Army Corps of Engineers


• Florida Department of Transportation


• Georgia Department of Transportation


• Skyway Concession Company LLC


• Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and New Orleans Public Belt Railroad


• Maryland Transportation Authority


• Massachusetts Department of Transportation


• Mackinac Bridge Authority


• New Hampshire Department of Transportation


• Delaware River Port Authority


• New Jersey Turnpike Authority


• MTA Bridges and Tunnels


• New York City Department of Transportation


• New York State Bridge Authority


• Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority


• Port Authority of New York and New Jersey


• Seaway International Bridge Corporation


• Thousand Islands Bridge Authority


• Ohio Department of Transportation


• Oregon Department of Transportation


• Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and New Jersey Turnpike Authority


• Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority


• Harris County Toll Road Authority


• Texas Department of Transportation


• Washington State Department of Transportation


• Wisconsin Department of Transportation

ABC News contributed to this report.