Maryland’s transport officials have proposed to alter the route of the new Key Francis Scott bridge in Baltimore to try to accelerate construction and limit environmental impacts.
Originally planned to occupy the footprint of the Patapse river of the original 1.7-mile steel bridge, which collapsed after being hit by a disabled container boat in the early hours of March 26, 2024, the new two-mile-long cable structure will be built on a parallel alignment about 260 feet southeast.
According to Maryland’s transport authority, the movement allows the work of the new structure to increase while the demolition of the remaining portions of the Old Bridge occurs, eliminating a possible obstacle to fulfill the date of completion of the autumn currently planned. In addition to avoiding the excess waste of the collapsed structure, the agency hopes to minimize the disruptive effects of the dredging of the remaining bridge below the mud line, which could have water quality effects downstream on the Bay of Chesapeake.
As the proposed plan of reference involves a change in the environmental permit of the project, it must be approved by the Maryland Environment Department and the State Public Works Council. MDTA has not said how long this process will take. Since its inception in July, demolition work at the Old Bridge has first focused on eliminating the remaining bridge sections that extend to the Patapse river. Once this work is completed, workers will eliminate the remaining ground level sections, followed by the buttresses.
Designed by Kiewit Infraestructure Co. By virtue of the first phase of $ 73 million of a progressive design construction contract, the new bridge will be longer and higher than that of its background in the 70’s, providing a higher vertical and horizontal surface to accommodate the increasingly large boats shouting in the port of Baltimore. The design calls for the two main pylons of 600 feet high to separate by more than 1,600 feet, with the roof of the bridge at 230 feet above a deeper management channel about 1,000 feet wide.
New pylons will also have an online collision protection system with the standards recommended for AASHTO for such bridges.
The National Transport Safety Board, which continues to investigate the collapse that killed six construction workers, indicated a vulnerability orientation document of March 18, 2025, that the four 28 -foot navigation channels of diameter, fibrated on the rubber built along the old navigation channel 700 feet wide from the width of the width of the KEY bridge width.
In the meantime, the test batteries are expected to be driven to the PatapSco river of the Patapse river next month. The total cost of the replacement bridge has been estimated at $ 1.7 billion, although MDTA says it plans to issue a revised cost and calendar this fall.
