Bay Area transportation officials say they are prepared for "worst-case scenario" after Key Bridge collapse
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Memorial Bridge in Baltimore has Bay Area residents wondering how emergency personnel would respond to such a disaster.
Handling a situation like the one in Baltimore would involve many agencies, including but not limited to, local law enforcement, emergency management, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
"I'm not an engineer but that just looked like the worst case scenario," John Goodwin with the MTC said.
MTC is constantly working on improving Bay Area bridges.
"The Bay Area is seeking a grant from the US Department of Transportation to upgrade the fender system on the Bay Bridge," Goodwin said. "It's officially know as the ship collision protection system."
If approved, the MTC would receive $167 million to improve the bridges. The hope is it would help safeguard the bridges from a catastrophe like the cargo ship collision in Baltimore.
"We can plan for a lot of different scenarios, but reality has a way of coming out one step ahead of preparation," Goodwin said regarding how prepared the MTC is for disasters scenarios. "It's hard to really assess how ready we are until the situation demands it."
The Water Emergency Transportation Authority would also be called on in most disaster scenarios.
"We prepare for incidents," Thomas Hall said about WETA's involvement. "We have exercises on a regular basis, not just us but all of our captains and deck hands undergo vigorous training."
Hall says if what happened in Baltimore happened in the Bay Area, the ferry system would be immediately shut down so those boats could be utilized elsewhere.
"Part of our mission at San Francisco Bay Ferry is to provide emergency water transit if one of the bridges or other trans-bay transportation systems are disabled," he explained.
Both organizations are always working to create better safety plans and keep their crews ready for whatever may happen.
Despite that, Goodwin understands that some citizens may be concerned.
"This is an extremely rare type of incident but things like this have happened elsewhere and we had a very close call in 2007 so for folks that are worried about this type of thing, their worries are warranted, they're legitimate," Goodwin said about the risks. "Even things that happen very, very, rarely sometimes happen."
Both Goodwin and Hall are hoping more information will be released about the Baltimore crash so they can utilize that in their planning.
