Bridge protection systems

[1] Protecting bridges against ship collisions got attention of architects and regulators in the last third of the 20th century due to a marked increase in the frequency of collision accidents: worldwide, 30 major bridges collapsed in the 1960-1998 timeframe after being rammed by ships or barges, 321 persons were killed.

Minor collisions are routine: the US Coast Guard gets 35 reports per day.

[2] In the US, the turning point was the collapse of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1980.

Since then,[2] There are several types of bridge protection systems used:[7] Physical bridge protection systems designed to prevent catastrophic collisions are expensive and represent a "significant" share of overall construction costs.

Therefore, alternatives are typically considered during the design phase:[10] Highway designs in the US are subject to the AASHTO specifications,[4][6] but the text does not contain specific procedures and recommendations.