Maryland governor planning to huddle with members of Congress on bridge aid

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) is set to meet with members of Congress on Tuesday as state leaders begin to lobby the federal government for funds to pay for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

The bridge collapse has closed the Port of Baltimore for nearly two weeks after a cargo ship lost power and collided into a support pier, sending the steel structure into the Patapsco River and killing six people. 

“I’m going to be spending part of this week with our delegation going down and meeting with leaders and ranking members in the Congress and letting them know that this issue is not partisan,” Moore told The Associated Press. 

“This is a patriotic responsibility to be able to support one of this country’s great economic engines,” he continued. “This is an opportunity to support a port that is directly responsible for the hiring of tens of thousands of people.”

President Biden pledged that the federal government will pay the full cost of rebuilding the bridge, though Republicans in Congress have been less than enthusiastic about the effort. The House Freedom Caucus announced last week that it would require “full offsets” for any funding and other budget-conscious demands in exchange for its backing.

It is unknown exactly how much a new bridge will cost or how long it will take to construct, though early estimates say it could be multiple billions of dollars and take more than a year.

Moore is expected to sign a state emergency funds bill on Tuesday, drawing from the Maryland rainy day fund to pay for cleanup and construction costs. 

Work is already underway to clear the fallen bridge from the channel. A group of shallow alternate routes have also been cleared under the bridge, allowing small ships to leave and enter the harbor. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated that a temporary channel capable of transiting large ships, including the automotive carriers that are common in the Port of Baltimore, could be open by the end of the month. Port officials estimated it could be back to full capacity operation by the end of May.

Moore told the AP that he was impressed by the speed of recovery and how quickly channels were open. He said he was told on the morning of the collapse that temporary channels would be cleared in two weeks.

“I would have said that sounds really ambitious, considering what we saw, but that’s where we are,” he said.

The governor added in a statement Monday that the families of those who were killed also remain a priority of his administration. The six people killed in the collapse were roadway workers, all of them believed to be immigrants. The bodies of four of the six victims have not been recovered.

“These families deserve closure — and our team continues to focus on the recovery of their loved ones,” he said in a statement Monday. “The collapse of the Key Bridge has resulted in a complex, dangerous situation for everyone involved in this operation. But our commitment to bringing closure with dignity will not waver.”