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Work to rebuild the Key Bridge in Baltimore will begin this month.
Pre-construction works will begin on Jan. 7 as crews survey the area, scan the Patapsco Riverbed and collect soil samples, the Baltimore Banner reported. Demolition will follow in the spring, but the surrounding Fort McHenry Canal will remain open throughout the project.
Omaha, Neb.-based Kiewit Infrastructure Co. won a $73 million design-build contract of the Maryland Transportation Authority Board in August. The project includes Phase 1 of the full design and construction of a bridge replacement, which collapsed in March 2024 when it was hit by the freighter Dali.
Kiewit has exclusive negotiating rights for the second phase, which will include final design and construction.
Work to replace the ill-fated span is expected to last until 2028 and cost $2 billion. President Joe Biden had previously promised that the federal government would pay for the bridge replacement, and last month’s congressional spending bill included funding to begin work on the bridge.
“The people of Maryland appreciate that Congress has come out strongly to help us rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge quickly,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement in response to the funding. “This action affirms the central importance of rebuilding the bridge not only to Maryland, but to the nation.”