CLEVELAND — After hearing about the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse in Baltimore, we were reminded of one of Ohio’s most tragic bridge collapses.

What You Need To Know

  • The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Baltimore 

  • One of the deadliest bridge collapses was in 1967 here in Ohio 

  • The Silver Bridge connected Ohio to West Virginia 
 

One of the deadliest bridge collapses was back in 1967 here in Ohio. The Silver Bridge carried US Route 35 over the Ohio River, connecting Ohio to West Virginia.

This bridge collapsed because of a fracture in one of the eyebars, something West Virginia University engineering Professor Hota GangaRao said could have been prevented through the design of the bridge.

“There was not enough redundancy in those bridges. In other words, if one or two joints fail, the tendency is to have a galloping failure because of the failure of one or two joints. However, modern bridges are designed that even if one member fails, we are designing it in a manner that the forces that are taken up by this one failing member are redistributed to other members. That is the big difference between the modern designs and the old 1930s or 1940s-based designs,” GangaRao said.

GangaRao said the Silver Bridge collapsed due to corrosion of the steel eyebar, killing 47 people. As a consequence of that, GangaRao said Congress came up with a periodic bridge inspection scheme to mandate bridge inspection in depth once every two years.