Massachusetts bridges ‘up to date’ with inspections, Maura Healey says after Baltimore bridge collapse
After a cargo ship crashed into and knocked over a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said bridges across the Bay State are regularly inspected and “up to date.”
Healey, appearing on Boston Public Radio on WGBH, said she’d be meeting with officials from the Coast Guard, state Department of Transportation, Massport and Massachusetts Maritime Tuesday afternoon to discuss port and bridge safety.
“I want to make sure that we are having a conversation to make sure that all of our protocols are where they need to be and that we are doing everything we can to assure the safety of our ports and our bridges,” the governor said.
In Baltimore, a container ship lost power, rammed into and dismantled Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday, causing a construction crew and several vehicles to plunge into Port of Baltimore’s dangerously cold waters. Rescuers pulled out two people, but six others remained missing.
The ship’s crew issued a mayday call moments before the crash took down the bridge, enabling authorities to limit vehicle traffic on the span, said Maryland Gov. West Moore who had been slated to attend the Kennedy Institute’s annual dinner, scheduled for Tuesday evening in Boston.
“It is absolutely devastating and heartbreaking. I was actually supposed to be meeting with Gov. Moore this morning, and he had to fly back in the middle of the night to attend to this,” Healey said. “I have been in touch with him, I have offered him 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.”
Healey highlighted how bridges in Massachusetts continue to be inspected and are “up to date,” with the Tobin Bridge — a 2-mile span carrying traffic over the Mystic River between Boston and Chelsea — receiving the latest assessment a “couple of months ago.”
The governor also emphasized how “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.”
The early morning disaster in Baltimore further underscores the importance of recent funding developments for the Sagamore and Bourne bridges, carrying traffic to and from Cape Cod, Healey said.
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Both bridges are structurally deficient and must be replaced, according to inspection reports done by their owner, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The full cost of building new bridges is estimated north of $4.5 billion.
Over the last four months the state’s congressional delegation has managed to get the feds to cough up $722 million toward replacement of the bridges, $350 million of which was signed into law earlier this month by President Biden. The state has committed at least $700 million toward rebuilding the aging spans. Replacing the Sagamore — a Healey priority — however, is estimated at $2.14 billion alone.
In a letter addressed to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg last week, the lawmakers urged approval of an outstanding Bridge Investment Program grant application for $1.072 billion.
“Structurally deficient doesn’t mean unsafe because what happens is when there is that designation there was work immediately done to ensure safe passage,” Healey said, “but it doesn’t take away from the fact that we need to have these bridges replaced.”