In California, and particularly the SF Bay area, bridges like the Golden Gate and the Oakland Bridge, both well over 80 years old, were built with large concrete islands, and fenders. The islands of the Oakland-Bay bridge have been struck twice by container ships coming out Oakland. In each case the ships suffered damage, not the bridge. The last time was 2013. These “islands” were built with earthquakes in mind as well as errant ships. In the case of the Key bridge the same thing could have been done. Instead it was done badly, probably to save money.
Previous Message
Well, the container ships of the mid 70's were not the size they are now - they were much smaller and the dolphins were sufficient at the time. That's not a design fault, that's simply obsolesence.