As container ships continue to increase in size, the question is whether the infrastructure that protects bridges from being hit by huge vessels can keep up with their growth, writes Larry Higgs for nj.com.

The need for better protection was best illustrated when ship Dali struck a pier that supported the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, causing both it and the bridge to collapse. The tragedy took the lives of six workers on the roadway.

Several of the local bridges currently seem to be appropriately protected from similar accidents.

The structural steel towers that hold up the Ben Franklin and Walt Whitman bridges sit on foundations in the river and are protected by timber fender systems.

Additionally, they stand in shallow water, close to the riverbank, which makes it almost impossible for any large vessel to significantly impact the bridge piers.

There is also one protection dolphin at the Walt Whitman at the Pennsylvania tower.

Read more about the bridges’ protection at nj.com.

_____