13-02-2025
MDTA awards $60M in construction, inspection contracts for Key Bridge rebuild project
The Maryland Transportation Authority approved three contracts, each worth $20 million, for management and inspection services contracts in the Francis Scott Key Bridge reconstruction project.
The deals were awarded Wednesday to Greenman-Pederson Inc./Gannett Fleming Inc., a joint venture; Michael Baker International Inc./STV, Inc., a joint venture; and AECOM Technical Services Inc.
The firms will provide various services, including constructability reviews, detailed inspections of all construction work and assistance to MDTA's compliance officers with the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise goals associated with the project.
'The awarding of the Construction Management and Inspection Services contracts is a critical next step in the Key Bridge Rebuild process,' MDTA spokesperson Bradley Tanner said. 'The services performed by the awardees are essential to ensuring compliance and progress of the rebuild.'
Preconstruction work on the new bridge is already underway, and the bridge is expected to be completed by October 2028. The replacement bridge is expected to cost between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion, according to state officials.
Congress approved full funding for the project in December. Kiewit Corp., a Nebraska-based construction giant, was chosen as its designer and builder last summer.
MDTA released a request for proposals on Sept. 9, 2024, inviting teams to submit technical proposals for the construction management and inspection services contract. The contracts were awarded to the three teams with the highest ranked technical proposals. The open-ended, task-order-based contracts each have a 33% DBE goal and a duration of five years.
The consultant teams will ensure the process meets the needs and expectations of the design and permits, MDTA officials said.
On Feb. 4, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore unveiled the design of the new Key Bridge with a new, taller cable-stayed bridge that will reconnect Curtis Bay and Dundalk. The design 'honors the architectural tradition' of the bridge, using 'the most advanced industry standards and best materials available,' as the state did when building the original Key Bridge in the 1970s, Moore said.
On March 26, 2024, the Dali had just left the Port of Baltimore for an intended months-long voyage to Sri Lanka when the container ship experienced a reported power outage near the Baltimore bridge and smashed into one of its principal supporting piers around 1:30 a.m. The bridge crumbled instantly after being hit by the ship, which weighed more than 112,000 tons loaded with freight.
A crew of workers repairing potholes on Interstate 695 tumbled into the frigid river below. Six highway construction workers were killed, and maritime traffic into the port ceased for weeks.
Officials have pledged to hold the Dali's owner and operator accountable for the crash, suing Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and Synergy Marine Private Ltd. amid an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Initiatives in support of the rebuild project span across the region, with the Community College of Baltimore County launching a new welding program at its Dundalk campus that will help students find job opportunities working on the Key Bridge project and other construction sites. The college currently partners with Earlbeck Gases and Technologies at an off-campus facility that taught 125 students in 2024.
Construction will begin on the Dundalk campus this summer with plans to enroll an additional 100 to 125 students per year beginning in the fall of 2026, according to Jay Bouis, assistant dean for Applied Tech and Logistics at CCBC. According to the American Welding Society, there is a growing demand for welders due to an aging workforce, with nearly 45 percent of current welders being over the age of 45.
'The Key Bridge is one of the things that is causing the college to take a hard look at what we are offering and how we can better meet the needs of the community now and in the future,' Bouis said.
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