BALTIMORE (AP) – Engineers working to remove the remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that collapsed in Baltimore said Thursday they expect to restore navigation in and out of the Port of Baltimore by the end of the month.
The bridge was struck by the Sri Lankan-bound cargo ship Dali shortly after leaving Baltimore on March 26, and collapsed within seconds. The ship issued a mayday warning, giving police enough time to stop traffic, but not enough to save road construction workers filling the hole in the bridge. Authorities believe six workers died after falling into the Patapsco River. Two bodies have been recovered so far. The remaining two survived.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced a “preliminary schedule” Thursday, saying in a news release that it would open a limited access channel to the port that is about 280 feet wide and 35 feet deep. It is expected to open within the next four weeks, he said. meters). This route will support one-way traffic in and out of the port for barge container services and some vessels transporting automobiles and agricultural equipment to and from the port.
The USACE said it aims to reopen the permanent 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep (213 meters by 15 meters) federal shipping lane and restore port access to normal capacity by the end of May. .
“The complete opening of federal channels remains our primary goal, and we will accomplish this task carefully and precisely with safety as our top priority,” USACE commander Lt. Gen. Scott Spermon said in a news release.
Mr Spelmon acknowledged that the schedule was “ambitious” and could still be affected by bad weather and “changes in the complexity of the wreckage”.
The announcement came on the eve of a scheduled visit by President Joe Biden, who is scheduled to tour the collapse site and meet with victims' relatives on Friday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would also receive updates on the operation from officials from the U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers.
On Thursday, Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, traveled to Baltimore to meet with business owners, along with state and local leaders. Guzman said the federal program, which provides loans to small businesses affected by bridge collapses, has received 500 applications so far.
He said companies involved in transportation and supply chain logistics were likely to be hit hardest in the short term, but the long-term ramifications would be far-reaching.
“This is a whole range of impacts,” she said after a roundtable at her Baltimore office, which opened in recent days to help business owners affected by the bankruptcy.
The Port of Baltimore handles more automobiles and farm equipment than any other similar facility in the country, and the disaster has created logistical problems up and down the East Coast.
The Maryland Senate unanimously approved a bill Wednesday night that would authorize the governor to use the state's emergency fund to assist unemployed port workers. This sends the bill to the Maryland House of Representatives, where it could be approved this week.
Norwegian shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen, based in Baltimore, said it estimates its losses from the port closure to be between $5 million and $10 million. One of the ships is one of several currently docked in Baltimore's harbor.
Crews are working to remove the steel wreckage and recover the remaining bodies, but recent bad weather has made the task more difficult. They opened two temporary waterways primarily intended for vessels involved in the cleanup.
But the water is so murky that salvage divers can only see 1 to 2 feet in front of them, Gov. Wes Moore said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. Each diver is now paired with an operator who guides them in a “buddy system” using three-dimensional drawings and other tools.
U.S. Coast Guard Maj. Gen. Shannon Gilreath said seven commercial ships with crews on board were stuck in port. Ships cannot set sail until a temporary channel deep enough for ships to exit is opened.