Baltimore bridge collapse highlights outdated safety standards, experts say

State Library Ed. Note: If you cannot access this story via the link below, state employees can access this Washington Post story HERE via the State Library’s subscription to the US Newstream database. Alternatively, state employees can contact us for access: LibraryHelp.SLO@slo.oregon.gov or 503-378-8800.

Engineers say the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge shows how U.S. system hasn’t evolved to keep up with modern challenges.

U.S. standards for keeping bridges from collapsing when hit by ships hail from a different era.

They rely on half-century-old West German experiments on model ships for a key mathematical formula. Their minimum specifications cite the danger of empty 195-foot barges breaking loose from their moorings and drifting into bridges, a threat that seems quaint compared with the hulking 985-foot container ship that strayed off course after an electrical failure and toppled the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last month.

Source: Baltimore bridge collapse highlights outdated safety standards, experts say – The Washington Post