Maryland lawmakers to check out Baltimore's Key Bridge demolition progress

CBS News

2 days ago

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen will visit Baltimore's Key Bridge on Wednesday to check on the demolition progress.
Heavy machinery was brought to the Patapsco River in early July to knock down the remaining portions of the bridge still standing 20 months after it collapsed.
The state lawmakers will get updates on the Key Bridge's replacement process, which is expected to be completed in 2028.
The demolition efforts are expected to take several months with the use of heavy machinery, the state warned.
Officials said there won't be any controlled detonations during this phase of the demolition, and the remaining sections of the bridge will be taken down piece by piece.
The demolition is the first step to getting an economic engine and transportation connector back in Baltimore. It was also an anchor in the city's skyline.
Work on the Key Bridge will begin with the removal of the bridge deck over the river, followed by the demolition of sections over Hawkins Point and Sollers Point.
Crews will initially remove parts of the collapsed bridge that stand in the way of the alignment of the Key Bridge rebuild, state officials said.
Residents in the area of the Key Bridge will see tug and barge operations on the river, with heavy equipment and trucks seen on the remaining bridge structure.
Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) officials say boats and people in the waterways should avoid the collapse site during the demolition process. Demolition crews will use excavators, concrete saws, vacuums, cranes, and trucks.
Heavy and loud construction work will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The Key Bridge reconstruction project will cost about $2 billion, and it will take about four years to complete.
Pre-construction activities began in January 2025, which included inspections of nearby properties, riverbed scanning, and soil sample collection. In February, the MDTA authorized three contracts worth $20 million each for construction management and inspection services.
A new cable-stay design revealed in February showed that the new structure will visually resemble the original bridge while implementing structural improvements. The new Key Bridge will be taller to better accommodate ship traffic, with the federal shipping channel expanding from 700 to 1,000 feet wide and the base raised by 45 feet to a height of 230 feet.
The bridge roadway will still be two lanes wide going in each direction. Other pier support structures will be implemented to secure the structure.
According to the MDTA, other bridge features include:
"Our new bridge will also be constructed in accordance with the most advanced industry standards and the very best in infrastructure design," Maryland Gov. Moore said. "We are going to use the best materials available and employ many Marylanders to build it."
In December 2024, Congress passed a deal on a federal spending package, which allocated $100 billion for disaster relief, including the entire cost of a new Key Bridge.
At the time, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the efforts to complete the work on a new Key Bridge were "on time and on budget."
"The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a national crisis, and meeting the moment would require an act of national unity," Moore said. "Now, we must bring our work to completion by rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge."
On March 26, 2024, the cargo ship DALI, a 948-foot vessel managed by Singapore-based company Synergy Marine Group, lost power before crashing into the Key Bridge, according to investigators. Six construction workers performing road work on the bridge died after falling into the Patapsco River.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the ship lost power four times in 12 hours before the collision.
The NTSB blamed MDTA for not conducting a critical vulnerability assessment on the Key Bridge, which it said could have identified the structure's risk of collapse.
The NTSB review found the level of risk for a catastrophic collapse for the Key Bridge was nearly 30 times higher than acceptable risk levels.
"The MDTA would've had information to proactively identify strategies to reduce the risk of a collapse and loss of lives associated with a vessel collision with the bridge," NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said.