Debate emerges over whether modern protections could have saved Baltimore bridge

In this aerial image released by the Maryland National Guard, the cargo ship Dali is stuck under part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the ship hit the bridge, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Baltimore. — Maryland National Guard via AP

When a 900-foot container ship struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 2007, the span stood firm and no one died, either on the ship or the highway above.

The bridge’s supports were protected by a fendering system of concrete and other materials that was installed to absorb such strikes. And it’s now prompting the question: Could such a system – or others like it – have saved Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge?