Biden: Federal government should pay to rebuild Baltimore’s Key Bridge after collapse

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President Joe Biden said Tuesday he’s directed his team to “move heaven and earth” to get the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore rebuilt and the port reopened after the bridge collapsed early Tuesday morning when it was struck by a container ship.

Biden said he plans for the federal government to pay the entire cost of reconstruction.



Ship traffic in the Port of Baltimore has been suspended, Biden said, until the channel can be cleared.

He called it “the top port in America, both imports and exports of automobiles and light trucks, around 850,000 vehicles go through that port every single year. And we’re gonna get it up and running again as soon as possible.”

He noted that 15,000 jobs “depend on that port. And we’re gonna do everything we can to protect those jobs and help those workers.”

He said the Army Corps of Engineers is there to help clear the channel.

“As I told (Maryland) Gov. Moore, I’m directing my team move heaven and earth, reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible.”

Biden also said it is his “intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge. And I expect the Congress to support my effort.”

“It’s going to take some time,” Biden said. “The people of Baltimore can count on us to stick with them at every step of the way.”

Asked whether the company behind the ship that rammed the bridge should foot the bill, Biden said: “We’re not going to wait for that to happen. We’re gonna pay for it to get the bridge rebuilt and reopened.”

The president said he plans to travel to Baltimore “as quickly as I can.”

Watch Biden’s full remarks below.

‘One of the cathedrals of American infrastructure’

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday afternoon both to offer support and note that rebuilding will be no simple task.

“This is no ordinary bridge. This is one of the cathedrals of American infrastructure,” Buttigieg said at a news conference in Baltimore. “It has been part of the skyline for this region for longer than many of us have been alive.”

“So the path to normalcy will not be easy. It will not be quick. It will not be inexpensive, but we will rebuild together.”

Buttigieg said the Maritime Administration will assist with port harbor and supply chain operations.

The Federal Highway Administration will assist when it comes to the bridge itself and any ways that “we can help ease roadway congestion for residents and commuters who can no longer use this major thoroughfare,” he said.

“The Federal Aviation Administration is even involved working to keep the airspace above the bridge clear for emergency personnel.”

‘One Maryland’ ethos

Tuesday was a tough day in the Maryland General Assembly as lawmakers grappled with the impact of the collapse of Baltimore’s Key Bridge.

Del. Marc Korman, chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee, kicked off Tuesday’s meeting by telling his colleagues, “Our thoughts are with the directly impacted families and also the incredible first responders” who raced to save lives “in the middle of the night.”

Later in an interview with WTOP, Korman explained that while lawmakers may have their differences, “We have sort of a ‘one Maryland’ ethos here, and it’s not that big a state.”

He added, “We all have driven over the Key Bridge, we all know people who live around there.”

When asked about the impact of the pledge from the Biden Administration to get congressional approval for the cost of replacing the bridge, Korman said that’s helpful. While he said they’re in “the immediate aftermath” of the bridge collapse, “of course, we’re going to want to rebuild. Baltimore’s a resilient city, and Maryland’s a resilient state, and so we’re going to build back,” but, he said, that will take time to “get into place.”

In the meantime, an April 1 budget deadline looms in the General Assembly, and Korman said there is some debate on how to handle a roughly $3 billion six-year shortfall. Korman said the legislature has been working toward solving the problem of providing “the infrastructure dollars we need for the infrastructure that Maryland wants.”

What could be considered when rebuilding the bridge

Built decades ago, the bridge lacked some of the improvements developed over the years to make the structure safer. Some bridges have protection near supports to deflect some of the blow from a potential ship strike.

“We won’t know for quite some time as to what sort of protections for the bridge structures would have approved prevented this, but certainly it would have helped I think,” Rick Geddes, infrastructure policy expert and director of the Cornell University Infrastructure Policy Program, told WTOP’s Mike Murillo.

He said enhanced protection against ship-bridge collisions needs to be a focus, since there are sensors that, once embedded in the bridge, can communicate with approaching ships.

Other sensors available can let officials know of problems with the structure before a catastrophic failure.

“Things they can tell you about (are) the vibration, the temperature, the alkalinity in the concrete,” Geddes said.

He said paying for the project is also something still to be discussed, pointing out that other states, following disasters, leaned on public private partnerships to rebuild and maintain rebuilt bridges.

Geddes also calls on lawmakers to look at infrastructure funding that helps pay for improvements and work that would protect bridges from possible threats, both natural and man-made.

“We need to focus on improving the resilience of our infrastructure, and that could be redundancies that are built into the design and construction of the infrastructure.”

WTOP’s Kate Ryan, Mike Murillo, Jessica Kronzer and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

The recovery from the deadly Baltimore bridge collapse reached a significant milestone, as the ill-fated container ship Dali was slowly escorted back to port. (Courtesy Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command)
Refloated at high tide, the vessel slowly moved away from the site of the March 26 disaster, guided by at least four tugboats. (Courtesy Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command)
Salvors working with the Key Bridge Response Unified Command refloated and moved the M/V Dali. (Courtesy Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command)
FILE – Explosive charges are detonated to bring down sections of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the container ship Dali on Monday, May 13, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)
Explosive charges are detonated to bring down sections of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge resting on the container ship Dali on Monday, May 13, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Visitors look at a damaged truck, part of a memorial along a road leading to a park at the base of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge on Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Baltimore. An effort to remove sections of the collapsed bridge resting on the container ship Dali was postponed on Sunday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
A visitor walks through a memorial along a road leading to a park at the base of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Baltimore. An effort to remove sections of the collapsed bridge resting on the container ship Dali was postponed on Sunday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
A cross memorializing construction worker Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes is displayed at a memorial along a road leading to a park at the base of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Baltimore. An effort to remove sections of the collapsed bridge resting on the container ship Dali was postponed Sunday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
A photo of construction worker Jose Mynor Lopez is displayed at a memorial along a road leading to a park at the base of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Baltimore. An effort to remove sections of the collapsed bridge resting on the container ship Dali was postponed Sunday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
A photo of construction worker Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval is displayed at a memorial along a road leading to a park at the base of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Baltimore. An effort to remove sections of the collapsed bridge resting on the container ship Dali was postponed Sunday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Flowers are seen at a memorial site to honor the construction workers who lost their lives in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Workers remove wreckage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
A vessel, right, moves past the stranded container ship Dali, through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
bridge underwater
This sonar image shows bridge wreckage in the deepest part of the federal Port of Baltimore Shipping Channel (left), and one of the Francis Scott Key Bridge main supports (center). (Courtesy Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command)
This sonar CODA image, provided by the U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea System Command (NAVSEA) Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV), shows bridge wreckage in the deepest part of the federal Port of Baltimore Shipping Channel, and one of the Francis Scott Key Bridge main supports. (Courtesy Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command)
This sonar image, provided by the U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea System Command (NAVSEA) Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV), shows bridge wreckage in the deepest part of the federal Port of Baltimore Shipping Channel (center), and one of the Francis Scott Key Bridge main supports (right). (Courtesy Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command)
Image shows wreckage of Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore underwater. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore. (Courtesy YouTube/White House)
Maryland Bridge Collapse
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, left, speaks during a news conference as Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) looks on near the scene where a container ship collided with a support on the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Baltimore. The major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below. Rescuers were searching for multiple people in the water. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg embrace after a news conference near the scene where a container ship collided with a support on the Francis Scott Key Bridge, in Dundalk, Md., Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
People gather for a vigil near the scene where a container ship collided with a support on the Francis Scott Key Bridge, at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Dundalk, Md., Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Members of the National Transportation Safety Board listen to NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy speak during a news conference near the scene where a container ship collided with a support on the Francis Scott Key Bridge, in Dundalk, Md., Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
APTOPIX Maryland Bridge Collapse
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that was struck by a container ship in Baltimore, Md., on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. The container ship lost power and rammed into the major bridge causing the span to buckle into the river below. (Maxaar Technologies via AP)
Maryland Bridge Collapse
A container ship as it rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Dundalk, Md. The ship rammed into the major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing it to collapse in a matter of seconds and creating a terrifying scene as several vehicles plunged into the chilly river below. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Maryland Bridge Collapse
Boats move near a container ship as it rests against wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Dundalk, Md. The ship rammed into the major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing it to collapse in a matter of seconds and creating a terrifying scene as several vehicles plunged into the chilly river below. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Maryland-Bridge-Collapse
Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with one of the bridge’s supports Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Baltimore. The major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below. Rescuers were searching for multiple people in the water. (WJLA via AP)
Maryland-Bridge-Collapse
Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with one of the bridge’s supports Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Baltimore. The major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below. Rescuers were searching for multiple people in the water. (WJLA via AP)
A cargo ship is shown after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. Two people have been pulled from the Patapsco River, while authorities say rescuers are searching for at least seven others. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
A cargo ship is shown after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. Two people have been pulled from the Patapsco River, while authorities say rescuers are searching for at least seven others. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with a support Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Baltimore. The major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below. Rescuers were searching for multiple people in the water. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)
A cargo ship is shown after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. Two people have been pulled from the Patapsco River, while authorities say rescuers are searching for at least seven others. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley, with Mayor Brandon Scott (R) and Fire Department Chief James Wallace (L), speaks at a press conference on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge Baltimore, Maryland, on March 26, 2024. The bridge collapsed early March 26 after being struck by a container ship, sending multiple vehicles plunging into the harbor below. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
The steel frame of the Francis Scott Key Bridge sits on the water after it collapsed in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 26, 2024. The bridge collapsed after being struck by a container ship, sending multiple vehicles plunging into the harbor below. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse is shown early morning, Tuesday, March 26, 2024 from Riviera Beach, Md. A container ship rammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing it to snap in a few places and plunge into the river below. Several vehicles fell into the chilly waters, and rescuers were initially searching for at least seven people. (AP Photo/Nathan Ellgren)
Parts of the Francis Scott Key Bridge remain after a container ship collided with a support Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Baltimore. The major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below. Rescuers were searching for multiple people in the water. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)
Key Bridge in Baltimore
A cargo boat strikes the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland early Tuesday morning. (Courtesy StreamTime Live via YouTube)
Submerged debris from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday morning. The Key bridge collapsed after being struck by a large cargo ship. (Photo Credit Baltimore City Fire Department via Facebook)
dali with Key Bridge debris
The cargo ship “Dali” under debris from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday morning. The vessel, owned by Synergy Marine Group, was headed through Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, as its final destination when it struck and collapsed the Key bridge after reportedly losing power. (Photo Credit Baltimore City Fire Department via Facebook)
key-bridge-sunken
Submerged debris from the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday morning. The Key bridge collapsed after being struck by a large cargo ship. (Photo Credit Baltimore City Fire Department via Facebook)
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