(RepublicanView.org) – Maryland Governor Wes Moore said he is confident Congress will fund the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed earlier this year. Speaking to reporters, Governor Moore said the project might cost between $1.7 and $1.9 billion, and that funding from Congress means restoration can begin as soon as possible.
The Democratic Governor described the Biden administration as “phenomenal partners” and noted that working with Republican and Democratic support will help restore “something really important to the American economy.”
The Port of Baltimore reopened in earlier in June, and officials said traffic would likely return to normal within weeks. At a ceremony at the port, Governor Moore said the Fort McHenry Channel was fully cleared and Baltimore was once again open for business. Commercial shipping companies diverted away from Baltimore after the bridge collapse, but all are expected to resume as usual.
Meanwhile, attorneys have asked a federal judge to prevent crew members from the ship Dali, which caused the March bridge collapse, from returning home until investigations are complete.
Lawyers for the City of Baltimore said most of the crew hail from India and Sri Lanka, and all are due to return to their home countries soon. The city argues that they must remain in the US to give evidence about the incident as officials try to determine precisely what went wrong and who was ultimately at fault.
Six people died when the Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge across the Patapsco River on March 26. The National Transportation Safety Board immediately sent a team to the scene, and their initial report in May stated that the ship had power outages with a knock-on effect that caused the boat to stall.
Debris from the collapse caused an almost entire shutdown of the Port of Baltimore, causing traffic diversions, local delays, and significant impairment of the supply chain.
The Department of Transportation said it would learn lessons from the collapse investigation and apply these nationwide.
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