Officials plan to reopen channel at Port of Baltimore this month
BALTIMORE, Md. (DC News Now) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has released a tentative timeline for re-opening the channel for the Port of Baltimore following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge last week.
The USACE said after studies and assessments, they expect to open a limited access channel 280 feet wide and 35 feet deep along the Fort McHenry Channel to the Port of Baltimore by the end of April.
“Thanks to the exhaustive work of the Unified Command during the last two weeks, including underwater surveys and detailed structural analysis of the wreckage, we’ve developed a better understanding of the immense and complex work that lies ahead,” said Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, USACE commanding general.
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On Tuesday, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said that larger vessels need a depth of 35 feet to get through the channel.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the channel would support one-way traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore for barge containers and some vessels that move cars and farm equipment.
USACE also said it aims to reopen the permanent, 700-foot-wide and 50-foot-deep channel by the end of May, restoring port access to normal capacity, something officials said is ambitious.
“These are ambitious timelines that may still be impacted by significant adverse weather conditions or changes in the complexity of the wreckage,” Spellmon added. “We are working quickly and safely to clear the channel and restore full service at this port that is so vital to the nation. At the same time, we continue to keep faith with the families of the missing and are working with our partners to help locate and recover their loved ones.”
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During a press briefing on Thursday, Governor Moore said in an effort to open the port, 75 containers arrived by rail from a vessel re-routed to the Port of New York and New Jersey due to the collapse of the Key Bridge.
“This Is not a permanent solution. The 75 containers that were moved today represent less than five percent of the average number of containers that the port processes daily before the collapse,” said Governor Moore.
In other new information on recovery efforts at the Key Bridge collapse site, officials played for the first time video that showed what divers see and experience in the water at the collapse site.
Officials said rescue operations are being done sort of in a buddy system. They said a diver is paired with an operator who uses 3D renderings and pictures to guide the divers when they are in the water.
Moore and members of the Unified Command continue to stress how extensive the wreckage in the water at the collapse site is.
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“But the wreckage is so mangled and bent that within those piles; within that wreckage, there may be the forces that it came down with,” said U.S. Army Corp Of Engineer Col. Estee Pinchasin. “Those spans may have contorted in such a way that if you were to cut it, there might be some force that’s pent up.”
“The salvage bucket is on its way up. It’s basically a giant grab that goes down to grab some of the wreckage to lift it up. the wreckage that can’t be rigged individually to be put on a barge,” said another member of the Unified Command.
“As I said before, safety and making sure that we have no casualties and no more injuries is the highest priority of this unified command,” said Gov. Moore.
President Biden is expected to visit the key bridge collapse site and talk about the federal response on Friday.
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