By Feniosky A. Peña-Mora, Sc.D., P.E., NAS, CCM, F.CIOB, NAC, Dist.M.ASCE
Just one year ago, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed when the Dali, a Neopanamax container ship, collided with one of the bridge’s piers, resulting in the tragic loss of six lives, namely the construction workers who remained on the bridge when it was hit. The casualties could have been much greater if local law enforcement hadn’t recognized the vessel’s path quickly and shut down traffic on both sides of the bridge immediately before the collision.
I pursued a career in civil engineering to advance society, creating a future we could all be proud of. And part of building a better world is to make our infrastructure more resilient. This includes modernizing our aging infrastructure assets to adhere to the most stringent codes and standards while ensuring these structures accommodate today’s challenges, such as increased energy demands, larger shipping vessels, and more frequent severe weather events.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge had long been a critical link for trucking and motor vehicles since its construction in 1977, at one time serving more than 30,000 motorists daily from Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and more.
The loss of this passageway has led to additional congestion on local roads and bridges, and the Port of Baltimore — the 17th-busiest port by tonnage in the United States — and its adjacent inland waterways experienced shipping delays for goods that could no longer pass through the channel, which then led to backups on the connecting freight rail networks.
These events remind us of how interwoven the various sectors that make up our built environment have become. One failure within our local, regional, or national infrastructure framework has a domino effect on remaining infrastructure systems, ultimately putting economic activity and public safety at risk.
Our infrastructure systems face more challenges from extreme weather events than ever before, as exemplified by the damage caused by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and Hurricane Milton in Florida last fall and by the devastating wildfires that forever changed the landscape of Los Angeles in January.
Civil engineers learn lessons from these events and work to rebuild stronger and more resilient communities as a result. By following stringent codes and standards and collaborating with state and local officials, we can mitigate the impacts of some of these tragic events.
Our transportation, water, and energy sectors cannot afford to be built and maintained without resilience as a core focus to adapt better to external stressors. Whether that is through strengthening the structures that comprise our infrastructure to better withstand impacts or severe weather events, improving operations to prevent the possibility of structures being affected by devastating forces, or having emergency action plans in place, communities in the U.S. and around the globe need the systems they depend on to be resilient so that people and businesses can be protected from catastrophe.
As we reflect on the devastation of Helene and Milton, the wildfires, and the first anniversary of the tragic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, let us not forget that engineers are problem-solvers. We adopt building standards and manuals of practice to create structures that can make the world a safer, better place. We must work with local, state, and federal governments to make sure these solutions are funded and implemented for a better future for all.
Feniosky A. Peña-Mora, Sc.D., P.E., NAS, CCM, F.CIOB, NAC, Dist.M.ASCE, is the executive president for research and dean of engineering and sciences at Tec Monterrey in Mexico. He is the 2024-25 ASCE president.
This article first appeared in the March/April 2025 issue of Civil Engineering as “Resilience in Infrastructure: Lessons from Tragedy.”
