Is the Bay Bridge safe? Key Bridge collapse has engineers taking a closer look

Even before the tragic collapse of the Key Bridge last week, the outstretched, cramped traveling lanes of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge had been known to make nervous drivers grip their steering wheels a little tighter. The dual-spanned, 4-mile-long bridge, which opened in 1952, is among the world’s longest over-water structures. Like the Key Bridge, it is among the 3% of bridges in the country to fall under the “fracture critical” category, meaning the entire structure could collapse if certain supports give way.