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Lessons from Skyway disaster failed to help protect Baltimore bridge

A ship approaches the Sunshine Skyway bridge in March 2021. Visible in the water just off the bridge are a series of cylindrical barriers known as dolphins that are designed to stop wayward ships from ramming the bridge. Officials decided to install the dolphins after a cargo ship crashed into the bridge in 1980, causing a partial collapse and killing 35. (Douglas R. Clifford / Tampa Bay Times)
A ship approaches the Sunshine Skyway bridge in March 2021. Visible in the water just off the bridge are a series of cylindrical barriers known as dolphins that are designed to stop wayward ships from ramming the bridge. Officials decided to install the dolphins after a cargo ship crashed into the bridge in 1980, causing a partial collapse and killing 35. (Douglas R. Clifford / Tampa Bay Times)
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When a ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday, video of the bridge’s catastrophic collapse seemed to show that the structures protecting the supports of the bridge were minimal compared to the Sunshine Skyway bridge. Engineering experts and maritime lawyers say not enough safeguards were in place.

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