Rep. Womack amazed by destruction, recovery at Baltimore bridge

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS (KNWA/FOX24) — It’s been about five weeks since people woke up on March 26 to the shocking videos of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Maryland.

A cargo ship lost power in the port of Baltimore and ran into the bridge in the early morning hours.

Arkansas District 3 Representative Steve Womack visited the wreckage on Thursday.

“This is a monumental disaster,” he said. “I will tell you, there were a lot of shaking heads out there. It’s very hard to describe in mere words, to explain just how big of a disaster it is and then what the long-term effects are going to be.”

He said it was unlike anything he had seen before.

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“Until you are actually on the water pretty close to it, you can’t really appreciate the size of this ship,” he said. “There are 4,000 containers on this ship. All of these containers on the very front of the boat smashed like they were toys and mangled steel still covering the front of the ship.”

Congressman Womack oversees the Department of Transportation’s budget as the Chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development subcommittee on appropriations.

He will be an important voice in the decision on how much the federal government will help Maryland rebuild the bridge.

“Will it be 80% or will it be 90%? Will it be 100%?” he said. “We will respect the process but I am very hopeful and confident that the U.S. Congress is not going to be in the way of getting that port reopened.”

He said several things have to happen before the federal funding talks can begin in Washington, D.C., such as getting the port cleared and letting the current investigations play out. The FBI is currently investigating to see if there was any criminal wrongdoing in the crash.

He said it was uplifting to see how everyone in the state of Maryland is working hard together to clean up the destruction regardless of any side they may be on, from the Coast Guard to Baltimore city leaders to the governor’s office.

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“It just kind of refreshes your confidence in how government should be working,” he said.

Womack praised Maryland Governor Wes Moore for his leadership in the state during this tough time. He said he and the governor took time today to give thanks to the first responders who worked so quickly to block the bridge that morning after the cargo ship sent its distress call.

“The Lord was looking down on the city of Baltimore that night,” he said. “Six people died that day, but there could have been literally hundreds and hundreds of more people innocently, unwittingly accessing the bridge and plunging to almost a certain death. So that was a true miracle.”

Womack said clearing the debris is the main priority right now. He said crews were able to get the river clear enough to get one way of boat traffic flowing again months ahead of schedule.

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