Second channel opens around collapsed Baltimore bridge, but not for shipping
Recovery teams opened a second channel enabling smaller vessels to navigate the Port of Baltimore on Tuesday but most commercial shipping remains blocked by the collapsed bridge and stranded container ship that brought the structure down a week ago. A second channel has been cleared around the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland, allowing access for emergency vessels, tugs and barges. However, the main channel, which is 50 feet (15 meters) deep, is still required to clear bridge debris before it can be opened. Major cargo ships require a depth of at least 35 feet. The bridge's truss is still intact, presenting a challenge for salvage crews as they attempt to remove the wreckage from the water. The Biden administration has secured initial emergency funding of $60 million for recovery efforts, and has asked Congress to fund the rebuilding of the bridge.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Daniel Trotta in World
A view of continuing recovery efforts at the site of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., April 2, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
A team including the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state of Maryland announced crews had cleared a channel with a depth of 14 feet (4.3 meters), similar to the 11-foot channel opened on the opposite side of the wreckage on Monday.
The two auxiliary channels have enabled access for emergency vessels, tugs and barges, but officials said they would need to clear bridge debris before opening the main channel, which is 50 feet (15 meters) deep. Major cargo ships need a depth of at least 35 feet, Maryland Governor Wes Moore told a news conference.
While much of the truss that is still standing appears intact, beneath the water lies a tangled web of steel that presents a challenge for salvage crews who will attempt to cut the wreckage into pieces and lift it out by crane, officials said.
"What we're seeing in the water is that the wreckage has been completely collapsed. Some people use the term pancaked. But that's making it very difficult to even determine where to cut, how to cut," Colonel Estee Pinchasin of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told the same news conference.
The bodies of four victims remain trapped beneath the wreckage, officials say. Divers recovered two other bodies.
The Biden administration has helped secure equipment and initial emergency funding of $60 million to begin recovery, and the president has asked Congress to fund the rebuilding of the bridge, which forms part of a highway looping around Baltimore.
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