ANNAPOLIS, Md. — How structurally sound are the more than 50-year-old spans of the Bay Bridge? According to an inspection report obtained by WUSA9, pretty good. However, there are some significant issues with a part of the bridge meant to prevent collisions.
WUSA9 obtained a copy of the 2023 Safety inspection report through the Maryland Public Information Act. The Baltimore Sun had originally obtained a copy of the reports.
To interpret the findings we consulted with Allyn Kilsheimer, a D.C.-based structural engineer with more than 55 years of experience. Kilsheimer has done forensic structural investigations for everything from the Pentagon after 9/11 to the Surfside Condominium Complex collapse in Miami.
The first thing we wanted to know was what the inspection report was supposed to show. How do companies, or in this case governments, plan repairs through the reports?
“From the standpoint of these inspections, they're done so that the [entities] that own the bridge can look at it and say, ‘How much work do we need to do to make sure the structure is safe and we won’t have a problem?’” Kilsheimer explained.
We asked him after a quick look over the report to see what he found. We focused on the suspension spans of the bridges, which are the primary shipping channels of the Chesapeake Bay.
He noted the report found the superstructure, or the portion of the bridge above the road, was in good condition. However, the westbound span’s substructure was in fair condition. The substructure is the foundation of the bridges. Additionally, a large focus was on the suspension span piers.
Kilsheimer noted that the ‘fair condition’ was nothing to be alarmed about. But there was one area of concern for the eastbound span of bridges: the buffers made of wood and the metal and wood buffers, or fenders, meant to keep ships from striking the piers directly.
“It says heavily missing timbers throughout,” he glanced at the report. “[Further down] it said steel and timber missing.
This summer Maryland's Transportation Authority rolled out its plan to improve pier protection for both spans of the bridges; a direct response to the collapse of the Key Bridge. But as far as protecting the bridges, Kilsheimer said even if the buffers were in excellent shape, they would not stop a massive ship like the Dali.
“You take a big mass [like that ship] and you move it relatively quickly, it's gonna go through anything, it’s physics,” he explained.
In previous reporting, experts told WUSA9 that Dali hit the Key Bridge with the force of a rocket taking off. But the big question we had for Kilsheimer was, even with a quick look, what is the overall outlook for the safety and structural integrity of the bridges?
“The 70-year-old one is in moderate to good condition,” he said. “The newer one is in good to excellent condition.”