On the two-year anniversary of the container ship crash that brought down Baltimore’s Key Bridge, Maryland leaders gathered in Dundalk, where the bridge used to cross the Patapsco River. to commemorate the lives lost and the damage done.
“We return to the water’s edge two years after a day that changed our state forever,” Gov. Wes Moore said. “Things look different, but the memories of that March morning, they remain as clear as ever.”
Moore took the time to say the names of the six construction workers who died that day, calling them patriots. He also praised those who responded in the hours, days and months after the crash.
Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, 49; Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 49; Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35; Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26; Carlos Daniel Hernández, 24; and Jose Lopez, 35, died in the collapse.
Rebuilding the bridge
“We faced enormous obstacles of twisted steel, a river of uncertainty, livelihoods at risk,” Moore said. “But the skeptics could not stop our people. When they said clearing the channel would take 11 months, Maryland got it done in 11 weeks.”
Transportation leaders also offered an update on the construction of a new bridge. Standing in the middle of the Patapsco River is a giant, 500-ton crane — one of the biggest on the East Coast. But the sight of the crane isn’t the first thing you notice, it’s the sound coming from it — a constant pile driving of steel going into the floor of the river.
“That pile is eight foot in diameter and over 200 feet in length. It is one and a half inches thick,” said James Harkness, lead engineer for the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Each pile weighs about 350,000 pounds; those are what will hold a new bridge up again someday.
“We are driving that down until we are able to reach the solid soil that is below the surface of the water. We have to go pretty deep, because we have some very challenging conditions out on the river,” Harkness said.
While that’s happening, a temporary construction trestle is being built from the land to help contractors get out to the piles in the water. In all, there will be dozens of them standing out of the water someday. The governor praised the amount of work that’s been done so far.
“In January, I met with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, and as Secretary Duffy has noted, this is the fastest moving large infrastructure project in the United States, and we plan on keeping it that way,” Moore said.
For now, engineering teams are being somewhat evasive about putting out solid figures in terms of dollars and years for the bridge, but have defended the pace of the project so far, arguing that they’ve accomplished what’s typically five to seven years of work in the last 14 months.
However, on a call Wednesday, Harkness noted that back in November, the hope was to have vehicles driving over a new bridge by the end of 2030. The state will know more in June, when the new bridge’s design phase is 100% completed.
“We’re working on the estimating and negotiation over the next couple months,” Harkness said. “So that’s where we’ll be able to have the agreed upon cost and schedule for the bridge.”
But Gov. Moore said there’s determination to move fast.
“The Dali struck the Key Bridge during my tenure,” Moore said. “Yet, I plan on being the governor who cuts the ribbon to reopen the Francis Scott Key Bridge.”
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