No, two other bridges were not damaged on the same day as the Baltimore bridge collapse

When the Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed on March 26 after it was hit by an enormous cargo ship, it was one of the most devastating accidents America had seen in years, taking out an interstate highway near Baltimore.

But a video shared on TikTok and Facebook claims it wasn’t the only bridge damaged that day.

The video says there were also incidents on the Indian River Inlet Bridge in Delaware and the Valley View Bridge in Ohio. VERIFY readers emailed us to ask whether those claims were true.

THE QUESTION

Were two other bridges damaged on the same day as the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse?

THE SOURCES

• Video and photos from local news reports about the alleged incidents

• Ohio Department of Transportation

• Delaware Department of Transportation

THE ANSWER

No, two other bridges were not damaged on the same day as the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.

WHAT WE FOUND

On March 26, the day the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, there were minor incidents near the Valley View Bridge in Ohio and the Indian River Inlet Bridge in Delaware. But neither incident actually occurred on the bridges nor did any damage to them.

In Ohio, the incident in question was a fire. A pile of mulch and wood caught fire at a landscape supply company located near the base of one end of the bridge.

The fire was soon put out, and no one was hurt.

Live news reports from VERIFY sister station WKYC show that even before the fire was put out, the bridge was unaffected.

“Traffic is moving steadily. There are no closures at this time,” a WKYC reporter said in a live stream.

The Ohio Department of Transportation told VERIFY: “The Valley View Bridge was not damaged in any way.”

In Delaware, the incident appeared to be a flood. But as in Ohio, this did not take place on a bridge.

Instead, the incident was just north of the Indian River Inlet Bridge in Delaware, on the Coastal Highway. Waves at high tide breached the narrow dune between the highway and the ocean, partially flooding one side of the roadway.

Half of the highway was shut down for a few hours until state officials repaired the dune, according to local news reports at the time.

The Delaware Department of Transportation told VERIFY: “The bridge did not sustain any damage.” 

They also said it’s not the first time the Coastal Highway has experienced flooding, and that it happens once or twice a year.