BATON ROUGE - Commuters crossing from one side of the Mississippi River to the other may have paid extra attention Tuesday to how sturdy bridges felt, noting every sway, bounce and vibration.

The devastating bridge collapse in Baltimore early Tuesday morning left some Louisianians questioning the stability and reliability of the state's infrastructure system. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development assured people that the state's bridges are indeed safe.

"If a bridge is open, it is a safe bridge to travel," DOTD spokesman Rodney Mallett said.

More than 11 million people a year cross the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The Horace Wilkinson bridge, or the "new" Mississippi River Bridge between East and West Baton Rouge parishes, carries five times as many.

Within the state, 11 major bridges connect Louisiana roads across the Mississippi River.

"It's something you think about, and it's something I've always thought about ... especially since yesterday," said Lauren Danzy, of Port Allen.

According to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, more than 1,700 Louisiana bridges — mostly small, local bridges — were deemed structurally deficient in 2019. Yet, DOTD officials believe the current state of Louisiana bridges are well-constructed and reliable.

"When we build a bridge, we take into consideration the vessel traffic and design for that," Mallett said. "The Mississippi River Bridge has a very robust fender system, same with the Sunshine Bridge. We do not have vessels of that size (of Baltimore) that are coming into this port."

In 2019, a tanker ship crashed into the Sunshine Bridge in St. James Parish, raising safety concerns.

Mallett said DOTD's main goals in maintaining the state's bridges include working with the Louisiana Coast Guard for routine inspections, building for vessels that are expected to come through the Port of Greater Baton Rouge and creating and maintaining a robust fender system.

"We do a navigational study and design a bridge for the vessels into that area," Mallett said. "The majority of our bridges, when needed, have a robust fender system to block barges mainly from hitting our piers."

Danzy's husband crosses the I-10 bridge each day to work in Baton Rouge. She said the idea that something could happen to him on the way to work crosses her mind often. She travels across the bridge herself, and while she's concerned, she obviously will not stop using the bridge.

"You can't live your life in fear. I'm still gonna get on the bridge," Danzy said. "Certain situations make me more nervous than others ... If I need to come into town, I'm still gonna come into town."

Over the course of 55 years from 1960 to 2015, 18 U.S. bridges collapsed, according to a 2018 report. With more than 617,000 bridges in the country, the chance of a bridge collapse is extremely small.

"[We have to] take into consideration that most of the pilots who are running the ships and the barges are very experienced," Mallett said regarding the likelihood of a bridge collapse like the one in Baltimore happening in Baton Rouge. "We trust them to not hit our infrastructure just like we trust the vehicles out here not to hit our infrastructure."