Posted on 02/04/25
| News Source: FOX45
Annapolis, MD - Feb. 5, 2025 - Gov. Wes Moore and the Maryland Transportation Authority unveiled a new design concept Tuesday for the Francis Scott Key Bridge, less than a year after its collapse.
Moore was joined by Lt. Governor Aruna Miller, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld and Maryland Transportation Authority Executive Director Bruce Gartner to discuss the rebuild at a press conference was at Tradepoint Atlantic in Edgemere.
During the press conference, Moore explained that the new cable-stayed bridge will use "the most advanced industry standards and best materials available,” as when the Key Bridge was originally constructed in the 1970s.
The original Key Bridge, a 1.6-mile (2.6-kilometer) steel span at the mouth of Baltimore’s harbor, took five years to construct and opened to traffic in 1977. It connected various port-oriented industrial communities around Baltimore and allowed drivers to easily bypass downtown.
Some preconstruction work on the new bridge is already underway, and the project is expected to be completed by Oct. 2028.
"We are going to continue to work together to cement Baltimore as a maritime hub for the East Coast, and the nation," Moore said.
The Key Bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River after a cargo ship collided with it in March 2024.
The bridge collapse also claimed the lives of six people who were on the bridge when it was struck by the vessel and as it fell into the water.
In January, the MDTA's team began pre-construction property inspections to about 1,100 homes and businesses in the communities near where the Key Bridge was, in order to address concerns from community members about the new construction.
Kiewit Infrastructure Co. was selected to complete the design and construction on the Key Bridge replacement.
The reconstruction project was expected to cost over $2 billion to complete.
The federal government has agreed to cover the full price tag for rebuilding. Congress recently passed a spending bill that included a funding provision for the project.
Officials have said they expect that federal taxpayers will eventually be made whole through insurance payouts and damages, but that could take a while. A sprawling civil case will ultimately determine the assignments of liability in what could become one of the most expensive maritime disasters in U.S. history.
The National Transportation Safety Board has not yet released its final report on the collapse, though officials said a loose cable in the ship’s electrical switchboard likely contributed to its power issues. Federal agents boarded the cargo ship Dali amid a criminal investigation last year.