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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Governor Maura Healey met with transportation officials on Tuesday afternoon to discuss bridge and port safety just hours after the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed.
The Governor, the Coast Guard, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and several other state agencies discussed Massachusetts safety protocols during a press conference at the Massachusetts Transportation Building.
Governor Healey and Jonathan Gulliver, MassDOT Highway Administrator, assured residents that bridges across the state are inspected regularly and have the proper protocols in place to keep drivers safe.
"We have a very robust bridge inspection program to make sure Massachusetts bridges are safe," said Gulliver. "I can assure you that bridge inspections are recurring daily across the Commonwealth."
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MassDOT is responsible for 5,000 bridges across the state that are inspected on a two year cycle, Gulliver said.
The Highway Administrator went onto say that there are some bridges considered "structurally deficient" in the state, which means they have elements that have deteriorated to the point where they need more maintenance work more frequently.
"About 12 percent of our inventory is considered structurally deficient, but again that does not mean unsafe and when we find a bridge that is unsafe to travel upon we take immediate action," he said.
During the press conference, both the Governor and Gulliver assured the public that all the necessary steps are being taken to ensure bay state bridges are safe. The meeting came in the wake of the early-morning bridge collapse in Baltimore after a cargo ship crashed into it. As of Tuesday afternoon, several people were still unaccounted for.
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