A report has revealed whether the Golden Gate Bridge could ever withstand the same circumstances that caused the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in collapse.
The 206-page engineering report, released on March 24, analyzed the durability of the world-famous bridge in San Francisco.
The analysis was commissioned following the devastating Baltimore bridge collapse on March 26, 2024, when a ship suffered a power outage and crashed into one of the Key Bridge's support columns, causing the entire bridge to come down and killing six construction workers.
Despite the Golden Gate Bridge being built nearly a century ago in 1933, the report discovered that the Golden Gate Bridge is remarkably secure, as cited by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Worst-case scenarios were modeled by engineers who simulated instances such as a vessel striking the bridge at speed and hitting its support systems.
The Golden Gate Bridge was designed with several defense mechanisms that make it highly unlikely to collapse, according to the report.
The report estimates that the odds of the bridge collapsing due to being struck are about 1 in 40,000 to 70,000 in a typical year.
The iconic California bridge's chances are at least four times lower than the current standard for bridges, according to the Chronicle.
A 206-page report found that the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is extremely safe and is well above safety standards
The report was commissioned following an incident in Baltimore on March 26, 2024, when a ship suffered a power outage and crashed into one of the Key Bridge's support columns, causing the entire bridge to come down and killing six construction workers.
An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the risk to the Francis Scott Key Bridge was about 30 times the industry-accepted level, according to the report.
The bridge's weakest point was its north tower, which lacked a 28 ft-thick concrete fender that protects its stronger end, the south tower.
The north also sits in deeper water, while the south sits in water so shallow that it's likely that a boat large enough to cause damage would bottom out before coming into striking distance.
Engineers said that it would take an extremely rare scenario where a ship traveled off course through natural barriers with enough power to bring the bridge down.
The analysis noted that a collapse is more likely to be caused by a ship with extreme height hitting one of the bridge's supports.
However, even that scenario is extremely unlikely.
According to the report the odds of the bridge collapsing due to being stuck are about 1 in 40,000 to 70,000 in a typical year
Only about 25 ships that are large enough to cause damage pass under the bridge daily.
However, those boats are passing through a nearly mile-wide gap, which rarely has to squeeze by other boats, according to the outlet
The NTSB identified 68 bridges in the US for which it recommends a risk assessment to determine whether they meet acceptable risk criteria.
Engineers explained to the Daily Mail in 2024 why the Baltimore bridge collapsed so quickly.
Engineers explained that while the bridge was not inherently unsafe, its 'flimsy' structure made it prone to collapse if its supports were damaged.