Heavy lift cranes head to Baltimore as rush to clean up Key Bridge collapse continues
BALTIMORE, Md. (DC News Now) — It’s been about four days since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Baltimore and clean-up of the wreckage in the river is underway.
On Friday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the U.S. Navy was providing four heavy lift cranes to help get cleanup efforts going.
Officials said one of the largest cranes on the eastern seaboard already arrived in Baltimore.
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Moore said two of those heavy lift cranes are already in Baltimore and the third crane arrives Friday night with the fourth coming on Monday.
“You have to navigate high winds and electric wires, to go out there and to see it up close, you realize just how daunting the task is. You realize how difficult the work is ahead of us,” Moore said.
Officials said one of the cranes called the Chesapeake1000 can lift about 1,000 tons.
“With the salvage operation this complex,” Moore continued. “You need to plan for every moment and every time you take action to move a piece of wreckage, you understand that requires you to reassess the situation.”
Getting these cranes to Baltimore is part of the goal that officials have as they open the port of Baltimore back up.
Moore said he is focused on four things: recovery, clearing the channel and opening the port, the people impacted including the family and rebuilding the bridge.
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In regards to recovery, diver operations were suspended because of unsafe water conditions.
Officials stressed that the closure of the port of Baltimore does not just affect Maryland.
“This mission is not just about Maryland and what we’re talking about today is not just about Maryland’s economy. This is about the nation’s economy,” he said. “Our economy depends on the port of Baltimore and the port of Baltimore depends on vessel traffic. Maryland’s economy and Maryland’s workers rely on us to move quickly.”
But clearing debris and opening the channel is a complex operation.
“The big part and one of the challenges is that the Key Bridge, which sits on top of the vessel right now, that weight is somewhere between three and 4,000 tons. So our team needs to cut it into sections in a safe, in a responsible and in an efficient way before it can lift those pieces out of the water,” Moore said.
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The governor said in the next few weeks, there will be seven floating cranes, 10 tugs, nine barges, eight salvage vessels and five U.S. Coast Guard boats in the water.
It is not yet known how much it will cost or how long it will take to rebuild the Key Bridge. Some experts said it could be anywhere from 18 months to several years to rebuild, and it could cost at least $400 million.
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