A photo circulating on social media showing one of the piers on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge looking off-center has drivers who travel over the busy bridge concerned.
Kimberly Hutson said her husband took the picture while he was fishing last weekend because he noticed that the pier looked different from all the others.
“He was very concerned,” Hutson said. “He thought that it had shifted like that.”
Viral social media photo
Kimberly Hutson said that if you think something feels off, it’s important to speak out.
In a photo her husband took, Hutson circled the part that stood out to him and posted it to social media.
“You see something, you say something,” Hutson said.
The social media photo had thousands of views, including from David Edwards.
“If it is true, it’s concerning because it looks like it’s shifted quite a bit, from the photo,” Edwards said.
Edwards said he also fishes near the Bay Bridge and plans to go see it for himself soon.
“I’m not a structural engineer or anything, but you would think that far off center is something at least to be concerned about,” Edwards added.
MDTA says there is no indication of bridge distress
The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) said it inspected the pier and confirmed there is no indication of movement or distress at the location.
The authority said in a statement, “While the image of the pier cap appears off-center, the bridge girders – the key structural components supporting the span – are aligned and centered with the pier cap. Importantly, the positioning has not changed since the bridge’s construction.”
Curtis Hills said he’s not stressed about the viral photo.
“Let the experts figure it out, and now that they have, drive and be happy,” Hills said.
Sounding the alarm
Hutson said she wasn’t trying to scare people, but especially after recent reports found that the Bay Bridge doesn’t meet today’s ship-collision safety standards, she wanted to raise awareness.
“I didn’t do it for people not to cross, in fact, I crossed it the very next day to go to a 1-year-old’s birthday party,” Hutson said. “I posted it for people to be aware and for people to understand that something’s not right.”
MDTA says Bay Bridge is safe
The MDTA said the Bay Bridge remains safe to drive, and engineers are still looking at ways to better protect it from vessel strikes after that National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report came out in the spring.
In May, the NTSB report said that the Bay Bridge does not meet a modern risk threshold for vessel collisions.
However, the MDTA said that the bridge itself is safe and well-maintained.
The MDTA said the bridge has passed annual safety inspections for more than 30 years and that Maryland has spent more than $175 million on Bay Bridge safety and security in the last decade.
What safety improvements is MDTA considering?
The MDTA is examining strategies to reduce vessel collision risks at the Bay Bridge.
Short-term strategies could include improved communication protocols for vessel pilots, reduced vessel speeds, one-way transits, and new methods to manage vehicle traffic on the bridge.
For long-term protection, the MDTA is considering installing dolphins – structures in the water designed to stop vessels from hitting the bridge – and pier fenders that would absorb impact.