The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that the shipping channel into Baltimore was fully reopened on June 10, following its closure due to the tragic Key Bridge collapse on March 26, which killed six maintenance crew workers working on the roadway.
The collapse occurred after a container ship, the Dali, collided with the structure in the wee hours of that late March day. Following the collapse, the channel remained blocked for more than two months and over 50,000 tons of metal had to be removed. Broken pieces of the Key Bridge had to be dislodged and the Dali was moved out of the channel.
“With the channel now fully open, we can get more Marylanders back to work at the Port of Baltimore, increase the flow of commerce through the city, and accelerate our economic recovery,” said Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) in a statement released by his office. “But our work is not over until we rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge.”
More than 30,000 vehicles a day traversed the Key Bridge, which served as the quickest route for trucks transporting hazardous materials that aren’t allowed in Baltimore’s underground tunnels.
The Biden administration, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Maryland Democrats agree on the federal government covering the full cost of the repair, which is expected to take years and cost billions of dollars.
“President Biden was very clear, and the Maryland delegation is leading a process in Congress to make sure that it is 100% eligible,” Buttigieg told Maryland Matters. “In the past, there has sometimes been a 90% threshold. But 100% is both the delegation and the administration’s view.”
In addition, Delaware Sen. Tom Carper (D), who chairs the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee, is visiting the Key Bridge site as his committee considers legislation to fund the rebuilding effort.
