Louisiana says its moving to address bridges vulnerable to vessel strikes

The Horace Wilkinson Interstate 10 Bridge in Baton Rouge is one of eight in Louisiana that the National Transportation Safety Board found faces an unacceptable level of risk from river traffic collisions. (Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)

A federal agency has determined 68 bridges nationwide, including eight in Louisiana, are vulnerable to vessel strikes that could have catastrophic consequences — and local officials might have no idea of the risk.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommends that the 30 entities that maintain the bridges in question conduct their own risk assessments and take measures to reduce their vulnerability.  

Rodney Mallet, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD), said the state has already examined the risk factors for its eight bridges mentioned in the report, and mitigation efforts are already in place.

“If a bridge is open, it is safe to drive over,” Mallet said.

The eight bridges highlighted in the NTSB report are:

• the Israel LaFleur Bridge on Interstate 210 in Lake Charles; 
• the Hale Boggs Bridge in Luling;
• the Horace Wilkinson Bridge on Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge; 
• the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Gramercy;
• the Sunshine Bridge in Ascension Parish;
• the Huey P. Long Bridge in Jefferson Parish; and
• both spans of the Crescent City Connection in New Orleans

The NTBS categorized the 68 bridges on its list as “critical/essential” or “typical,” based on their importance as travel corridors. The Huey P. Long, Gramercy and Sunshine bridges were labeled typical, with the other six deemed critical/essential.

Mallet said steps DOTD currently has in place to lower the risk of ship-bridge incidents include pier protection devices such as metal fenders and dolphins, vessel tracking systems, advance warning systems, and tug boats to guide tankers while docking. 

Louisiana intends to submit its risk assessment report to the NTSB within 30 days as requested, he added.

The measuring stick used to determine the collision risk bridges face comes from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). In addition to physical structures in place to prevent or reduce the same from collisions, the evaluation also takes into account the amount of vessel traffic in the waterway the bridge crosses.

The motivation behind the most recent NTSB report was last year’s collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River near Baltimore. Six construction workers were killed when the Singapore-flagged freighter Dali lost power and collided with one of the bridge’s supports. 

The NTSB’s review of the Key Bridge found it exceeded acceptable AASHTO risk levels.