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Preconstruction work to rebuild Baltimore’s collapsed Key Bridge to begin in January

This photo, courtesy of the Maryland State Police Aviation Command, shows the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the shrinking amount of steel wreckage remaining in Baltimore’s Fort McHenry Federal Channel. Unified Command cleared a 400-foot-wide swath of the federal channel May 20, permitting all pre-collapse, deep-draft commercial vessels transit of the Port of Baltimore. Unified Command continues to clear wreckage from the bottom of the Patapsco River, projecting to fully restore the Fort McHenry Federal Channel to its original 700-foot width and 50-foot depth by June 8-10. (Maryland State Police Aviation Command)

The aftermath of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in May 2024. (Maryland State Police Aviation Command)

Preconstruction work to rebuild Baltimore’s collapsed Key Bridge to begin in January

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Preconstruction work to collect data to design a new Francis Scott in is scheduled to begin in January, according to Maryland officials.

The Baltimore Sun reports that work is scheduled to include topographic and underwater surveys, as well as soil sampling, according to Bradley Tanner, a Maryland Transportation Authority spokesman.

The bridge collapsed March 26 after a container ship lost power and crashed into one of its supporting columns, sending six members of a roadwork crew plunging to their deaths.

A Coast Guard notice obtained by The Sun alerts mariners to construction activity in the Patapsco River starting Jan. 7 through the state’s estimated completion of the new bridge in October 2028.

Baltimore’s Key Bridge destroyed: Everything you need to know

Demolition is expected in the spring, said Jim Harkness, Maryland Transportation Authority’s chief engineer, The Baltimore Banner reports.

The rebuilding effort is expected to take nearly four years and cost about $2 billion.

In August, the Maryland Transportation Authority awarded the construction contract to the Omaha, Nebraska-based Kiewit Corporation.