Are Mass. bridges safe? Gov. Healey reacts to cargo ship crash that took down Baltimore bridge

BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday said her administration is going to be “proactive” in making certain the state is taking all possible steps to “ensure the safety” of local ports and bridges hours after a cargo ship crash caused the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Maryland officials said the container ship lost power and rammed into the Key Bridge, causing the span to buckle into the river below and plunging a construction crew and several vehicles into the dangerously cold waters.

Healey was asked about the devastating Key Bridge collapse during a late-morning appearance on Boston Public Radio with hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan.

“It’s absolutely devastating and heartbreaking. I was actually supposed to be meeting with [Maryland] Gov. Moore this morning,” Healey said. “He had to fly back in the middle of the night to attend to this and I have been in touch with him. I have offered our support as a state to Maryland and to Baltimore. My thoughts are with all of the victims and survivors – all those affected by this tragedy.”

Braude asked Healey how concerned residents need to be over the possibility of a local bridge collapse, especially with hundreds of “structurally deficient” bridges scattered across Massachusetts.

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Bridge collapse Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with a support Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Baltimore. The major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below. Rescuers were searching for multiple people in the water. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark) (Steve Ruark/AP)

“There are a few things that I will note. Number one, we continue to inspect our bridges here in Massachusetts. The Tobin was inspected, for example, as recently as a couple of months ago,” Healey said. “Number two, Massachusetts does not have the same kind of cargo traffic that they have through the Port of Baltimore. We used to, but in recent years that has changed and much of it is happening with cargo coming into Massachusetts but not having to pass under bridges.”

In the wake of the collapse, Healey told Braude and Eagan that she plans to meet with the Coast Guard, MassDOT, Massport, and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

“Number three, it’s important that we be proactive here...I want to make sure that we are having conversations to make sure that all of our protocols are where they need to be and that we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of our ports and our bridges,” Healey explained.

After Healey spoke, Massachusetts Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver took some time to discuss bridge and port safety and infrastructure in Massachusetts.

“From a standpoint of is there a lot of similarity between Massachusetts and Baltimore. There is not,” said Gulliver.

Gulliver says Massachusetts doesn’t have the same level of cargo traffic as the port of Baltimore but he points out one difference in how ships come and go from port of Boston.

“Tugboats travel with those ships as they travel in and out of the harbor from start to finish,” added Gulliver.

He says the size of the bridges across the Commonwealth aren’t the same either. Of the more than 7,000 bridges across Massachusetts, Gulliver says, only two have similar profiles to the Francis Key Scott Bridge: Tobin Bridge between Boston and Chelsea & Braga Bridge between Fall River and Somerset.

It was not clear how many people were driving on the 1.6-mile steel bridge when it fell, though Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said authorities had begun to stop traffic, likely saving lives.

A public webcam captured footage of the dramatic collapse of the bridge.

Are Mass. bridges safe? Gov. Healey reacts to cargo ship crash that took down Baltimore bridge

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