Key Bridge collapse: Recovery team prepares to remove large piece of bridge from Dali

Recovery crews are preparing to remove the piece of Francis Scott Key Bridge lying on top of the container ship Dali, a step necessary in opening a deeper channel to shipping traffic, Key Bridge Unified Command said Friday.

The Dali hit a key support pillar of the bridge on March 26, plunging the structure into the Patapsco River and on top of the vessel and killing six construction workers who were repairing potholes on the span.

Since then, the ship has remained trapped under a massive chunk of the bridge’s roadway.

On Tuesday, officials said a temporary shipping channel is expected to reopen at a greater depth for commercial traffic at the Port of Baltimore around May 10. Opening that channel, which would have a depth of 45 feet, requires the Dali to be moved, officials said.

That pathway, named Fort McHenry Limited Access Channel, had opened temporarily for four days starting last Thursday with 38 feet of bottom clearance.

Now, after removing 182 containers from the Dali, crews are prepping to remove the massive piece of the bridge on the ship.

This operation will require handling roadbed material, crushed containers and bridge fragments on the Dali. The command will use specialized equipment to monitor the positioning of the Dali and the bridge wreckage, according to the Unified Command.

No timeline for the operation was provided in the release.

“The complexities of this next phase of operations require thorough preparation, strategic planning, and specialized expertise,” said Capt. David O’Connell, federal on-scene coordinator of Key Bridge Unified Command, in a news release Friday. “We have the right team making this work happen in the safest and most efficient way possible.”

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This story may be updated.