Unlike Maryland, Delaware has made upgraded bridge pier protection a reality

After the 116,851-ton container ship Dali slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, collapsing it into the Patapsco River, an alarming fact became widely known: The structures designed to protect it from ship strikes installed half a century ago were no match for the huge vessels plying the waters today. The Maryland Transportation Authority, which owns the Key Bridge, never upgraded the original system of small protective cells near its piers as cargo ships quadrupled in size over the years.