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Maryland officials took two key congressional appropriators on a tour Monday of ongoing work to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge, as ballooning costs have raised fears that the federal government might not honor its pledge to pay 100% of the project.
Gov. Wes Moore (D), current and former members of the state鈥檚 congressional delegation and state transportation officials took Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) on a boat tour of the site, where work continues even though the state parted ways this spring with the current contractor over projected costs.
Capito, the chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Womack, the chair of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, were generally supportive of the project, despite what Capito called 鈥渆ye-popping鈥� costs on the multibillion-dollar project.
鈥淲e have to have a transparent process,鈥� Capito after the boat tour. 鈥淚 want to see why these costs have ballooned and what are the performance measures that are built in 鈥� because now, the whole country is paying for this.鈥�
The bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River when it was struck in the early morning hours of March 26, 2024, by a fully loaded container ship leaving the Port of Baltimore, killing six workers who were on the bridge at the time and severing a major East Coast highway route.
In the weeks immediately following the collapse, state officials estimated that replacing the bridge would cost about $1.7 billion. Then-President Joe Biden pledged that the federal government would pay the full cost of replacement, a promise that was made law in late 2024 in legislation passed by Congress.
Since then, however, the state鈥檚 official cost estimate has grown to be between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion 鈥� and some unofficial estimates have suggested it might be much higher.
The state this spring with Kiewit Infrastructure over price disagreements on the job going forward. Kiewit was involved in expedited planning on a replacement bridge, removal of the old bridge structures and placement of piles for a new bridge, and it will continue that work through the end of this year. But state officials are seeking new contractors for subsequent phases of the project.
State officials have blamed a number of pressures for the higher costs, but say the chief culprit are the modern safety measures that were not a part of the original bridge鈥檚 1970s-era design, but have to be built in today to prevent another tragedy like the 2024 collapse from happening.
鈥淚f you look at the fact that this next bridge that we鈥檙e building, it is going to have additional safety precautions and mechanisms that were not there when聽 features鈥� that were not there when the bridge was originally built, Moore said Monday.
鈥淚t will have to be larger, because it has to accommodate larger ships,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淪o I know when people say. 鈥楾hat鈥檚 ambitious, to say you鈥檙e going to build a bridge that鈥檚 safer and bigger, and build it faster than was done before,鈥� the answer is, it is ambitious.鈥�
Moore pointed to the work done so far and speed at which crews cleared the shipping channel in and out of the port 鈥� in weeks instead of months 鈥� and said he is confident the project can still be finished by 2030.
Moore said Capito and Womack have been 鈥渨ith us every step of the way.鈥�
鈥淭hey were here walking with us after the initial tragedy,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is not an introduction to either of these two.鈥�
Both Capito and Womack remained supportive of the project, with Capito noting the 89,000 people who crossed the bridge daily and Womack noting that some of the steel used in the project came from an Arkansas foundry.
鈥淭his is not a shirts-and-skins issue. This is not a blue/red issue,鈥� Womack said. 鈥淭his is a national issue and the sooner we can get this thing built, and they鈥檙e track record is pretty good right now, when you consider the speed at which a lot of these things are happening,聽 this is going to be open in record time and everybody鈥檚 going to benefit, particularly the nation.鈥�
Capito said that permitting reform that is working through Congress will be key to dealing with projects like the Key Bridge as the nation continues to grapple with aging infrastructure. For member of Congress it has been a case of 鈥渓essons learned鈥� with the bridge, she said.
One of the lessons already learned, Capito said, is 鈥淢aybe don鈥檛 put an estimate out until you鈥檙e really sure what the estimate might be.鈥�
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