The price tag for rebuilding Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge is now more than double what officials estimated i
n 2024 right after the bridge was struck by a container shop and collapsed.
The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) yesterday update
d the cost estimate to rebuild the bridge to a range of $4.3 billion to $5.2 billion, up from $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion.
The new estimate has an anticipated open-to-traffic date of late 2030, which is two years later than the original timetable.
The major disaster killed six workers and disrupted one of the nation’s busiest ports.
MDTA cited increased material and construction costs and the “robust pier protection system” for the higher projectio
n. The earlier estimates were made less than two weeks after the initial incident in March 2024. MDTA said that a cost
estimate typically would not be provided on a project of this size until much later in the design process.
“As design has advanced and pre-construction work progresses, it became clear that material costs for all aspects o
f the project have increased drastically since the preliminary estimates were prepared less than two weeks after the initial tr
agedy,” said Acting Transportation Secretary and MDTA Chair Samantha J. Biddle.
Watch More Image Part 2 >>>
The increased length of the main span, now 1,665 feet, is needed to comply with current guidelines for new bridges an
d the size and cost of the pier protection, for this span adds a “significant cost” to the project, according to MDTA.
The MDTA said it continues to work with the Federal Highway Administration to advance the rebuilding of the b
ridge. It is also continuing to negotiate with the design builder Kiewit.
The revised estimate comes right before today’s National Transportation Safety Board meeting on the probable cau
se of the contact of the containership Dali with the bridge and subsequent bridge collapse. NTSB’s board is expected to vote on the findings, probable cause and
safety recommendations as well as any changes to the draft final report.
The container ship Dali was moving out of Baltimore Harbor on March 26, 2024, when it experienced a
loss of electrical power and propulsion and struck the southern pier supporting the central truss spans of the bridge, w
hich subsequently collapsed. Six construction crewmembers on the bridge at the time of the contact were killed, one
construction crewmember was seriously injured, and one crewmember on the Dali was injured.
In a September letter to Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy raised concerns over reports of escalating project costs and question
ed the proposed budget and timeline. Duffy also called out what he sai
d were “unconstitutional” contracting practices that “prioritize race- and gender-based requirements ahead of project completion.”
In his reply, Moore said that the state will continue to work with the Trump Administration to find ways to reduce c
osts and rebuild faster including contributing state funds and pursuing litigation and insurance settlements.
“We must keep in perspective that 13% of our state’s economy hangs
in the balance and that the goods that flow through the Port don’t just touch Marylanders—they reach the farmer in Kentucky, the auto worker in Michigan, and the restaurant owner in Tennessee,” Moore stated.
The NTSB has criticized Maryland officials for failing to conduct a risk assessment of the Key Bridge before it collapsed.
The state has maintained that the collapse was solely the fault of the Dali and its owners.