On Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed the Maryland Transportation Authority missed a critical Key Bridge vulnerability assessment before the collapse. 

The Key Bridge was a big part of people’s lives and their livelihoods. Local residents say they still can’t believe it collapsed and now they’re stunned that something so critical went unchecked. 

“Terrible, I mean frightening…who would have thought that the bridge would come down like that,” Raymond Welzel, a Baltimore resident, said. 

Just days shy of one year since the Key Bridge collapsed the NTSB said the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) failed to conduct a critical vulnerability assessment that would have given them the chance to identify structural risks with the Key Bridge before it collapsed last March. 

Missed assessments

The NTSB told 30 owners of 68 bridges across 19 states to conduct a vulnerability assessment to determine the risk of a bridge collapse from a vessel collision. 

The NTSB says had the state conducted these assessments based on recent ship traffic, the MDTA would’ve been able to reduce the risk of collapse and loss of life. 

“Its somebody’s job to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Welzel stated. 

“People died, and now what it’s going to cost to rebuild it and the inconvenience we’re going through…hopefully people are up in arms about it and will do something about it,” Bob DiMartino, a Pasadena business owner, said. 

The MDTA released a statement saying the authority maintains the catastrophe and the tragic loss of life was the sole fault of the DALI and the gross negligence of its owners and operators who put profits above safety.