Port of Baltimore shipping lanes that have remained blocked since last week's collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge are expected to be partially reopened by the end of April, with full traffic restored by late May. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Thursday. .
The announcement came on the eve of President Biden's scheduled visit to the wreckage site on Friday. On March 26, a huge container ship collided with the bridge, plunging it into the waterway leading to and from one of the country's busiest ports.
Officials have warned that removing distorted, jagged debris from the channel will be a complex and potentially dangerous underwater salvage operation as they rush to reopen the Port of Baltimore, a major automotive hub that employs 8,000 people. .
The 280-foot-wide, 35-foot-deep channel leading to the port is expected to open first, allowing container ships and car carriers to pass through, the agency said, with the channel being maintained to ensure navigability. The Army Corps said in a statement. The route will allow one-way traffic for vessels to and from the port at a time, the statement said.
Officials aim to reopen the entire 700-foot-wide, 50-foot-deep channel in a month, restoring access to the port to normal capacity, the statement said.
The White House said Mr. Biden will receive an aerial tour of the wreckage on Friday and be briefed on response and recovery efforts. He will also meet with the loved ones of six construction workers who are presumed to have died after falling into the river when the bridge collapsed.
In the 10 days since the collapse, responders conducted underwater surveys and detailed structural analysis of the bridge debris to assess future work, the statement said.
Two small temporary channels, 11 feet and 14 feet deep, had been cleared and opened in advance to allow several small barges and other vessels to enter and exit the port.
Divers will first need to cut the metal and concrete structure currently at the bottom of the Patapsco River into manageable pieces and lift it to the surface with a crane, experts said. Divers will be working in fast-moving currents and poor visibility.
Rebuilding the bridge, which carries about 35 million vehicles a year and spans 2.6 miles over the river, will be a much longer process that could take several years. The Biden administration announced last week that it would allocate $60 million in federal highway emergency funding, the initial cost of what will likely be a far more expensive undertaking.
Biden has promised that the federal government will pay for the bridge's reconstruction.