Maryland transportation officials have updated their financial and construction projections for the rebuilding of the destroyed Francis Scott Key Bridge, pushing the re-open date two years to 2030 and estimating that the cost could more than double the state’s initial estimate of $1.9 billion.
The new cost projection of about $4.3 billion to $5.2 billion comes on the eve of a National Transportation Safety Board meeting Tuesday that will delve into the cause of the bridge collapse last year that killed six people.
Maryland Transportation Authority officials said in an interview Monday that the $1.9 billion figure — which they said last year was in line with cost estimates of projects of a similar scale and complexity — was assembled in the immediate aftermath of the collapse in to access emergency relief funds from the federal government.
State officials have used the funds they have received so far to clear the Port of Baltimore shipping channel in the Patapsco River, where the Key Bridge fell on March 26, 2024, when the massive Dali container ship lost power and crashed into a key support pillar, plunging a construction crew into the icy waters below. Six men died and two survived.
More than 18 months later, MDTA officials said they have a much clearer picture of the price tag for constructing a span, which includes the cost of labor, enhanced safety measures and construction materials that have become more expensive because of tariffs.
“Estimating is difficult on these larger projects,” said Jim Harkness, MDTA’s chief engineer. “The market factors, that all comes into play.”
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy had said in August that he believed the state’s initial projections likely weren’t “anywhere near accurate” and could be closer to “double plus.”
MDTA Executive Director Bruce Gartner said those working on the rebuilding effort are working to mitigate costs and keep the bill closer to the lower estimated range.
“We are spending every dollar like it’s our dollar,” Gartner said, noting that the state is also cognizant of how the missing roadway has impacted daily commuters in the Baltimore region. “We do recognize that. We are taking measures. We are trying to do everything we can.”
At the NTSB meeting, scheduled to be held in Washington at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, federal investigators are set to release findings from their long-running investigation into the Dali.
While safety investigators have given factual accounts of electrical and other problems that beset the ship early that morning, the NTSB has not provided its conclusions on the causes of the tragedy.
Among the outstanding questions are the extent to which the ship’s crew and owners might have been able to prevent the deadly collision, what precisely led the ship to lose power before the crash and what federal and state officials might have done differently to reduce the risks of such a disaster.
This is a breaking story.
The post Maryland officials more than double cost estimate to rebuild Key Bridge
appeared first on Washington Post.
