While the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore could impact consumers on the East Coast and the Midwest, Southern California officials tried to make sure a similar disaster doesn’t occur in the Ports of LA and Long Beach Tuesday.
While the exact cause of the collapse was still under investigation, there was at least one key difference between the destroyed bridge 3,000 miles away and the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge, according to Mario Cordero, the CEO of the Port of Long Beach.
“The pillars that support our bridge are land-based. They’re not in the water.” Cordero explained. “Any vessel that comes underneath the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge does not have to navigate around a pillar.”
The Vincent Thomas Bridge at the Port of Los Angeles also does not have pylons in the water.
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While it is standard for a local pilot to board an incoming ship and navigate it through a port, Cordero added that the Ports of Long Beach and LA have an additional safety measure.
“These cargo vessels come in with the assistance of tugboat guidance,” Cordero explained. “And for that very reason, they help navigate a vessel through a channel or underneath a bridge or through a waterway.”
Caltrans officials also said the bridges in California are safe to travel because they are supposed to meet “rigorous and strict seismic and safety standards”
“Caltrans has installed fender systems on all major bridges, further protecting bridge piers from the unlikely and rare event of being struck by marine traffic,” the agency said in a statement. “All state-owned bridges are regularly inspected to ensure strict structural safety and have been seismically retrofitted to the highest national standards.”
Caltrans also said once the investigation into the Baltimore incident is complete, the agency will use the findings to further bolster bridge safety in California.
