Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld and Gov. Wes Moore at the unveiling of the design for the replacement of Francis Scott Key Bridge. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters)
State officials unveiled the design for the new Francis Scott Key Bridge on Monday, almost a year after a container ship slammed into the old bridge, sending it tumbling into the Patapsco River and killing six workers in the process.
“This is a great day for Maryland,” said Gov. Wes Moore (D), as the design was revealed. “But it’s not lost on me that today’s triumph was born out of tragedy.”
Renderings of the bridge unveiled Monday show a soaring cable-stayed bridge to replace the old steel truss bridge that was destroyed in the early hours of March 26, 2024, when the ship, Dali, hit the span. The new bridge would be the first cable-stayed bridge in the state.
When it is completed — the contractor predicts the bridge could open in fall 2028 — the bridge will restore a major roadway between Dundalk and Baltimore. The loss of the bridge disrupted supply chains, and shut down a toll road used by more than 30,000 vehicles a day, which collected $56 million in tolls a year.
“This directive isn’t about nostalgia, it’s about necessity. Because you can’t have a fully functioning Port of Baltimore … without the Key Bridge,” Moore said during the event at Tradepoint Atlantic, which is near the remnants of Key Bridge.
Moore also announced an investment of $15 million in Tradepoint Atlantic’s terminal container project, which is expected to increase container capacity at the terminal by 70%. The project is expected to generate as much as $1 billion in private investments and create up to 8,000 jobs.
The new bridge will be four lanes, two in each direction as the old bridge was. But it will provide 230 feet of clearance for ships passing underneath, compared to a height of 185 feet for the old bridge, said Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld.
Wiedefeld called the unveiling a “significant milestone on our path to make the Baltimore region and the vital Northeast corridor whole again.”
“The Port is an economic driver for all of Maryland and the nation,” he said, noting that the new structure will be “a working bridge for a working city,” though designs are not fully finalized.
Now that the plans have been unveiled, the next step in the bridge’s construction is demolition of what remains of the old structure, according to Moore. Demolition is expected in the spring and construction will begin shortly after.
Preconstruction operations have already begun, such as collecting soil samples and mapping subsurface waterways, the Maryland Transportation Authority said in January.
The Maryland Board of Public Works approved a $75 million contract last month to hire three firms that will oversee construction management services on the project, under the name Bridging Maryland Partnership. The partnership will oversee work by the project contractor, the Kiewit Infrastructure Co., to ensure that “the accelerated design and construction process remains on track,” according to MdTA.
“Maryland is a bridge between America and the rest of the world,” Moore said. “Commerce and trade are the bedrock of our state. And we will continue to make investments that honor our tradition. We still have work to do, but this is a very important step forward.”