Two-way shipping traffic resumed in Baltimore Harbor's deep federal channel yesterday, the culmination of an 11-week, $100M cleanup of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge and removal of the 900-foot Dali container ship. Port officials expect trade to return to normal levels by next year. The disaster has cost the region an estimated $1.2B in disrupted trade.
Early on March 26, the Dali lost power as it left port and drifted into the steel bridge, plunging its 1.6-mile span into the Patapsco River and killing six construction workers (see timeline). Over 100 million pounds of debris was removed from the river to open the port, requiring the region's largest floating cranes (see process). The 300-year-old Helen Delich Bentley Port moves the most farming equipment and cars in the nation and is the closest deep-water harbor to the nation's capital.
Federal officials have pledged to fund the replacement of the 50-year-old bridge at an expected cost of $2B. Current estimates peg its opening for 2028.
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