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Bridges aren’t ready for today’s huge ships
Engineers aren’t sure whether barriers would have helped.
“We don’t design for the deadly force that is generated by such an impact — millions of pounds,” Atorod Azizinamini, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Florida International University, tells The Verge. In 2017, the Panama Canal expansion project was completed to “meet the growing demand of maritime trade using larger vessels.” In 2019, the Bayonne Bridge connecting New York and New Jersey was raised 64 feet so ships could fit underneath. During a press conference this week, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg acknowledged that some modern bridges are “designed with different features to mitigate impacts and protect their piers.” But he also notes that there’s uncertainty surrounding their effectiveness.
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