A chilling new report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has identified dozens of bridges that could be one vessel strike away from disaster—including two major spans in New Jersey.
According to the NTSB’s findings, the Commodore Barry Bridge and the Vincent R. Casciano (Newark Bay) Bridge are among 68 bridges nationwide that require immediate vulnerability assessments to determine their risk of collapse in the event of a ship collision.
The March 2024 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore sent shockwaves through the nation, raising urgent concerns about the structural resilience of other bridges spanning major shipping channels. New Jersey’s critical infrastructure is now under the microscope, with two of its most significant spans flagged for potential vulnerability.
The Commodore Barry Bridge, which stretches across the Delaware River, was built in 1974 and classified as “typical” under national bridge safety guidelines. Meanwhile, the Newark Bay Bridge, which connects Bayonne and Newark, has been labeled “critical/essential”—a designation reserved for vital highway network crossings. Built in 1955, the Newark Bay Bridge carries thousands of vehicles daily across a critical commercial corridor, making its structural integrity paramount.
The NTSB has directed the bridge owners—the Delaware River Port Authority (for the Commodore Barry Bridge) and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (for the Newark Bay Bridge)—to conduct urgent risk assessments using advanced calculations to determine the probability of collapse in a vessel collision scenario.
According to the NTSB’s statement, these calculations will determine whether the risk level exceeds acceptable safety thresholds set by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). If a bridge is found to be above the danger threshold, officials must immediately develop and implement a comprehensive risk-reduction plan to prevent catastrophe.
“Today’s report does not suggest that the 68 bridges are certain to collapse,” the NTSB clarified. “However, we are recommending that bridge owners evaluate whether their structures exceed acceptable risk levels and take decisive action if they do.”