The approach from the northern/Dundalk side of the original Francis Scott Key Bridge structure is seen still standing from the shoreline on June 21, 2024. Photo by Thomas I. Deaton/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
March 6 (UPI) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday granted permission for the Maryland Transportation Authority to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Harbor.
“Less than one year after the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Baltimore District is proud to have provided fair and efficient permitting efforts to enable the construction of a new bridge,” USACE Baltimore District Commander Col. Francis Pera said in a news release shared with UPI on Thursday.
“To have both removed the bridge wreckage and issued relevant permits for its reconstruction on this timetable is a testament to our dedicated regulatory branch and our mission to support an energetic economy across the Mid-Atlantic,” Pera said.
The rebuilt bridge will connect the I-695 Baltimore Beltway and improve local access that was lost following the bridge collapse that killed six bridge workers, the USACE said.
The construction of the replacement bridge will be done over and adjacent to the Patapsco River’s Fort McHenry Federal Channel and shouldn’t alter the dimensions of the 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep channel.
The replacement bridge will include reinforced pier foundations, pier protection islands and six dolphins that will permanently impact 12.71 acres of the tidal Patapsco River, the USACE release says.
A temporary trestle will be built to enable construction access and contain 1,200 36-inch steel piles that extend up to 10 feet above the river’s high-water mark.
Another 300 36-inch mooring or template piles will be installed, which, along with the trestle piles, temporarily will affect 9.19 acres of the Patapsco River.
Geotechnical investigations are ongoing while test pile operations, pier demolition and trestle construction are scheduled to begin this summer.
In-water construction of the replacement bridge is scheduled to start in the fall and end three years later with a $2 billion budget.
The bridge collapsed when the cargo ship Dali struck it on the night of March 26, 2024.
