The Francis Scott Key Bridge was a four-lane bridge carrying approximately 34,000 vehicles per day across one of America's longest steel truss bridges, constructed in 1977. With a length of approximately 1.6 miles, the bridge spanned over one of the major thoroughfares for the Port of Baltimore, which is also one of the largest ports in the United States. On March 26, 2024, a container ship struck one of the piers, resulting in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge into the Patapsco River. It took eleven weeks to clear the wreckage and resume the shipping traffic back to pre-collapse numbers to the Port of Baltimore. In the past nine months, it has been estimated that without the bridge, other major vehicular routes have experienced an increase in traffic of as much as 25%.
Approximately nine months after the incident, the first steps are being taken on the path towards the replacement bridge. Preconstruction work is set to begin this month. As with any project, the preconstruction activities are crucial to the design, and the information gained from this is invaluable to engineers. This work will begin with collecting vital information such as subsurface waterways data, topographic survey information and soil samples. Other preconstruction activities will include voluntary inspections of homes and businesses near the bridge, demolishing the other remaining parts of the bridge and obtaining the necessary regulatory agencies' approvals to allow work in the waterways to minimize the environmental impact.
The project is currently targeting a construction completion date in the fall of 2028. Between now and then, we can expect to see every step necessary to achieve the final product. Due to the size, scale, and complexity of this project, the media has had some very good coverage of this. They will likely continue along that path, thus allowing someone who wishes to follow progress the ability to do so with relative ease. Projects like these are always intriguing as you will see the vast number of people whose necessary involvement is key to the completion of the final product.
To track the progress, follow along here: Key Bridge Rebuild
