When the 1,200-foot-long Francis Scott Key Bridge opened in 1977, its enormous steel-truss design was the state of the art for river crossings. But in the decades since, a more modern design that ...

BRIDGE STYLE: The metal truss-style bridge has a suspended deck; a design that contributed to its total collapse, engineers say. The ship appeared to hit a main concrete pier, which rests on soil ...

There are 99 bridges of similar design, said Tom Baker, WSDOT's bridge engineer. They stand out from other truss bridge designs because the "cross beams" also known as sway braces that sit above ...

The bridge had been weakened by structural fatigue over many years, authorities said, due to the design miscalculations on the gusset plates, which held together beam trusses.