The Key Bridge was structurally fine, but needed better protection so today’s ships couldn’t hit the bridge.
POOR CONDITION - advanced section loss, deterioration, spalling or scour.
SERIOUS CONDITION - loss of section, deterioration, spalling or scour have seriously affected primary structural components. Local failures are possible. Fatigue cracks in steel or shear cracks in concrete may be present.
CRITICAL CONDITION - advanced deterioration of primary structural elements. Fatigue cracks in steel or shear cracks in concrete may be present or scour may have removed substructure support. Unless the bridge is closely monitored, it may be necessary to close the bridge until corrective action is taken.
"IMMINENT" FAILURE CONDITION - major deterioration or section loss present in critical structural components or obvious vertical or horizontal movement affecting structure stability. Bridge is closed to traffic but corrective action may put back in light service.There is no claim the bridge condition contributed to it collapsing when hit by a large cargo vessel.
The ASCE report referenced (and linked to) in the article is 3 years old https://infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/bridges-infras... (2021 Report Card for America's Infrastructure). Their data comes from the US Department of Transportation.
So there is no self-interest here, really.