US approves $60 million in urgent funds for Baltimore bridge

The US Department of Transportation is providing $60 million in immediate funding for emergency work following the collapse this week of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. 

The funds will serve as a “down payment toward initial costs” as the Maryland state government works on emergency repairs, design and reconstruction of the bridge, the federal agency said in a statement Thursday. Additional money will become available as the project continues.

“The federal emergency funds we’re releasing today will help Maryland begin urgent work, to be followed by further resources as recovery and rebuilding efforts progress,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the statement. 

The Singapore-flagged Dali, a 984-foot (300-meter) cargo ship carrying about 4,700 containers, slammed into the bridge March 26 after experiencing a loss of propulsion. The collision brought down the whole structure, killing six and shutting down one of the busiest ports on the US East Coast. The accident is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The bodies of four of the six people presumed dead have yet to be recovered. Nevertheless, authorities are pausing their recovery efforts and starting operations to clear a giant truss that collapsed onto the Dali so that engineers can re-float and remove the ship from the channel and restart port operations.

The Army Corps of Engineers is bringing in what Maryland Governor Wes Moore described as the largest crane on the eastern seaboard. 

‘Completely Encapsulated’

Clearing the channel is a necessary step in furthering the recovery efforts, Moore said at a briefing. There’s a vehicle in the water, but it’s “completely encapsulated by the superstructure of the bridge, concrete, rebar, etc.,” said Roland Butler Jr., the head of Maryland’s state police.  

President Joe Biden has said he wants the federal government to pay to rebuild the bridge. 

Federal officials told Maryland lawmakers that replacing the 1.6-mile (2.6-kilometer) bridge would cost at least $2 billion including cleanup, said a person familiar with the matter.