Recreational vessels to get weekend passage around Key Bridge wreckage
Recreational vessels are set to be able to pass through an alternate channel around the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse site during an afternoon window each day during weekends, according to the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard said Tuesday in a safety bulletin that recreational boats can now pass through the 11-foot-deep Sollers Point Temporary Alternate Channel from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays without scheduling in advance. Recreational vessels are required to travel at a no-wake speed, remain within the marked channel on the north side of the collapse and stay clear of salvage operations.
The bulletin also says that commercial vessels, which must get preapproved by the Coast Guard’s Marine Transportation System Recovery Branch and be accompanied by a Maryland pilot, can now traverse the 48-foot-deep, 350-foot-wide Fort McHenry Limited Access Channel each day from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Non-deep-draft commercial vessels can pass through the shallower Fort Carroll Temporary Access Channel from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., with approval.
Since the deadly bridge collapse on March 26, access for recreational vessels has been limited to a few hours during certain days, most recently on Sundays. Hours after that window closed, Key Bridge Response Unified Command crews detonated explosive devices to destroy the piece of the bridge draped across the ship that hit it in March.
The container ship that struck the bridge is expected to be refloated in the coming days and transported to Seagirt Marine Terminal. Once the Dali is refloated, traffic through the three alternate channels will be temporarily suspended until the vessel is safely moored, the Coast Guard said. Officials have not released specifics on when the ship is expected to be refloated, though it is anticipated during a high tide this week.
Crews are on target to open the full 700-foot-wide federal channel later this month. The main channel to the Baltimore Harbor, with a controlling depth of 50 feet, has been mostly blocked by the wreckage since March, causing marine traffic at Port of Baltimore to slow down. Commercial vessels of increasingly larger size have been able to pass through varying temporary channels since the first alternate channel opened days after the collapse.
Once the collapse site is cleared of bridge wreckage and opened for traffic, the focus will pivot toward building a new bridge to close the Interstate 695 loop, a process that is expected to take more than four years and cost up to $1.9 billion.
