Topline
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said it was “too soon to be certain” how long it would take to repair and reopen the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed after a cargo ship collided with a pier early Tuesday morning—but noted to reporters the original bridge took five years to build while warning the rebuilding process “will not be quick, or easy, or cheap.”
Key Facts
Buttigieg said the bridge’s original construction time “does not mean it will take five years to replace,” though a more precise time frame won’t be available until an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board to determine the condition of the bridge’s remaining sections is completed.
Commuters in the meantime will be redirected through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and cargo ships will be diverted to ports in New York, New Jersey and Virginia.
Buttigieg said there was an estimated $950 million available in emergency relief funds set aside as part of a fund set up by the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, but could not immediately confirm how much of that fund would be immediately accessible for Baltimore’s recovery.
How Does The Key Bridge Compare To Other Bridge Collapses?
In 1980, a cargo ship struck the southbound span of the Sunset Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay in Florida. The accident destroyed a large section of the bridge, killing a total of 35 people. The Sunshine Skyway was able to reopen quickly after the northbound span was converted into a two-lane highway, but the replacement bridge wasn’t completed until 1987. In 2007, the I-35 bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed during rush hour, killing 13 people. The replacement effort was much quicker—taking only 13 months until the bridge reopened in 2008. Last year, a destroyed section of an I-95 overpass in Philadelphia reopened only 12 days after collapsing—but Buttigieg was less enthusiastic about the timeline for the Baltimore bridge at Wednesday’s briefing, noting that it spanned a much longer length. Six construction workers who were on the bridge at the time of the collapse and have been missing since are presumed dead.
News Peg
Buttigieg was joined by Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, who confirmed the Dali cargo ship did not spill any hazardous materials into the Chesapeake Bay. The ship still remains in the harbor, carrying an estimated 1.5 million gallons of fuel oil in its tanks, as well as several containers of hazardous “mineral oils,” Gautier said, but added he believed these were not a threat to the public. “The majority of those containers are closer to the pilot house and are completely unaffected by the damage to the ship.” The rest of the cargo, including the containers that fell into the harbor, held a “wide range of packaged materials” and “consumer goods,” Gautier said. The Coast Guard is now coordinating with the NTSB to assist in the investigation and the Army Corps of Engineers to remove the ship from the bay.
Big Number
$100 million. That’s the value of the cargo that moves through the port of Baltimore on a daily basis, according to Buttigieg. About one dozen cargo ships remain trapped in the port of Baltimore and unable to leave until the Dali is cleared from the harbor, the Coast Guard said. Additionally, the port employs about 8,000 workers, paying them about $2 million in total wages per day.
