A list of major US bridge collapses caused by ships and barges
A container ship struck a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing it to plunge into the river below. According to a 2018 report from the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure, 35 major bridges collapsed worldwide due to collisions with ships or barges between 1960 and 2015, killing a total of 342 people. Eighteen of those collapses occurred in the United States.
A list of notable disasters involving ships or barges hitting bridges in the US:
March 20, 2009: A ship pushing eight ships rammed the Popp’s Ferry Bridge in Biloxi, Mississippi, causing a 150-foot section of the bridge to collapse into the bay.
September 15, 2001: A tugboat and barge struck the Queen Isabella Causeway in Port Isabel, Texas, causing a center section of the bridge to tumble 80 feet into the bay below. Eight people were killed after motorists drove into the hole.
September 22, 1993: Barges pushed by a tugboat in dense fog strike and displace the Big Bayou Canot railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama. Minutes later, an Amtrak train with 220 people on board reached the relocated bridge and derailed, killing 47 people and injuring 103.
May 28, 1993: The tugboat Chris, pushing the empty hopper barge DM3021, struck a support layer of the Judge William Seeber Bridge in New Orleans. Two spans and the two-column bend collapsed onto the nave. Two cars carrying three people fell into a canal along the four-lane bridge deck. One person was killed and two people were seriously injured.
April 14, 1998: The Anne Holly tow passing through St. Louis Harbor struck the center span of the Eads Bridge. Eight ships broke away. Three of them hit a permanently moored gambling vessel under the bridge. Fifty people were slightly injured.
May 9, 1980: The 600-foot freighter Summit Venture was navigating the narrow, winding channel of Florida’s Tampa Bay when a sudden, blinding squall disabled the ship’s radar. The ship tore off a support of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, dropping a 1,500-foot section of concrete roadway during the morning rush hour. Seven vehicles, including a bus with 26 occupants, fell 50 meters into the water. Thirty-five people died.