There’s not much work left to do for thousands of port workers in Baltimore, Maryland, as the main shipping channel has now been blocked for more than two weeks due to the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
According to Scott Cowan, president of the local chapter of the International Longshoremen’s Association at the Port of Baltimore, more than 2,000 people are currently out of work because of the blocked channel.
“We have 300 still working on a daily basis in maintenance jobs,” Cowan said in an interview with WTOP.
Cowan represents thousands who work at Baltimore’s port.
“It’s getting a little bit slower as the days go past,” Cowan said. “They’re getting a little nervous. Some of them haven’t received a paycheck in a couple of weeks.”
This week, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed a bill called the PORT Act, meant to provide economic relief for workers and businesses affected by the situation. However, the impact of the legislation is “yet to be determined,” Cowan said.
“They made a commitment that they were going to get this done, and they did,” Cowan said. “I appreciate all that, but we still haven’t seen anything from any of that yet.”
Temporary, alternate channels have been cleared, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said that it expects to open a limited-access channel for barge container ships and some vessels moving vehicles and farm equipment by the end of April.
Officials are aiming to restore normal capacity to Baltimore’s port by the end of May.
“The salvage operations are going well,” Cowan said. “We’re hopeful and optimistic that we’re going to get back to work sooner than later.”
The bridge collapsed March 26 after being struck by the cargo ship Dali, which lost power shortly after leaving Baltimore, bound for Sri Lanka.
Those operating the ship issued a mayday alert with just enough time for police to stop traffic, but not enough to save a roadwork crew filling potholes on the bridge.
Authorities believe six workers — immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — plunged to their deaths in the Patapsco River.
The bodies of three have been recovered, but the search for the other victims continues.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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