Maryland DOT: $1.9 billion and up to four years to rebuild bridge sunk near Baltimore port

It will take just over four years and up to $1.9 billion to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was hit by a cargo ship and fell into the Patapsco River, according to an estimate by the Maryland Department of Transportation.

The state plans to build a new span by the fall of 2028, spokesman David Broughton said. He also said it will likely cost anywhere from $1.7 billion-to-$1.9 billion to rebuild the span after the container ship Dali lost power and slammed into one of the bridge's support columns.

Experts initially estimated it would take between two and 15 years to replace the bridge, which closed the loop of the Baltimore Beltway when it opened in 1977.

The March 26 collision with the massive ship sent a span of the bridge plummeting into the Patapsco River. The result closed maritime traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore because access to the harbor was blocked. The Baltimore port is the nation’s 11^th-largest and tops in the number of imported cars and light trucks.

While alternate channels are allowing larger vessels to the port on a limited basis, the main 50-foot channel was expected to reopen around the end of May.

President Joe Biden has pledged not to rest “until the cement has dried on the entirety of a new bridge.” He has promised the federal government will pay the full cost of rebuilding the bridge—“All of it,” he has said—and called on Congress to authorize that effort as soon as possible.

A road crew was on the bridge patching potholes on I-695 on an overnight shift when the collision happened. Six workers were killed.

Crews on May 7 recovered the body of the final victim, identified as Jose Mynor Lopez of Glen Burnie, Md. The father of four will be buried in his native Guatemala, family members said.

Crews on May 2 recovered the body of the fifth victim, identified as 49-year-old Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez of Glen Burnie, Md. Luna migrated from El Salvador 19 years ago.

Salvage and demolition crews are still working around the clock to clear wreckage from the collapse site. They’re now focused primarily on freeing the Dali from about 50,000 tons of steel that came crashing down on the ship’s bow.

That will allow the ship to be refloated and guided back into the Port of Baltimore. It will also allow most maritime traffic to resume through the busy East Coast port.

Meanwhile, the broker for the bridge’s insurance policy confirmed a $350 million payout will be made to the state of Maryland in what is expected to be the first of many payouts related to the collapse.

Chubb, the insurer, is preparing to make the $350 million payment, according to WTW, the broker.  “We expect the full property policy to be paid very shortly,” the Maryland Transportation Authority said in a news release.

There currently are four separate investigations into the accident that caused the bridge to fall:

• National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Its office of Marine Safety and Office of Highway Safety are examining what went wrong aboard the Dali and the structural components of the bridge.
• Coast Guard. Its Marine Board of Investigation is looking into the ship crash “in accordance with all applicable statutory and regulator mandates,” it says.
• FBI. Its agents have already boarded the ship, still located in the Patapsco River, using a search warrant. It is not known to what extent the FBI is investigating.
• Maryland Occupational Safety and Health. Six highway construction workers died in the accident. All but one has been recovered. The agency is looking into the causes behind their deaths.