Demolition on the rest of Baltimore’s collapsed Key Bridge will begin on July 7. Here’s what to expect

Demolition of the remaining structures of Baltimore s collapsed Key Bridge will begin on July the Maryland Transportation Authority MDTA broadcasted on Thursday The demolition efforts in the Patapsco River will take several months with the use of heavy machinery the MDTA warned What will the demolition look like Work will start with the removal of the bridge deck over the river then demolition of sections over Hawkins Point and Sollers Point Crews will initially remove parts of the collapsed bridge that stand in the way of the alignment of the Key Bridge rebuild which is expected to be completed in MDTA says controlled detonations will not be used during this phase of the demolition What should nearby residents expect There will be tug and barge operations on the river with heavy equipment and trucks seen on the remaining bridge structure MDTA says boats and those in the waterways should avoid the collapse site near the demolition process Demolition crews will use excavators concrete saws vacuums cranes and trucks Heavy and loud construction work will be from a m through p m What s next for the Key Bridge rebuild The Key Bridge reconstruction project will cost about billion and it will take about four years to complete Pre-construction initiatives began in January which included inspections of nearby properties riverbed scanning and soil sample collection In February the MDTA authorized three contracts worth million each for construction management and inspection services A new cable-stay design revealed in February shows that the new structure will visually resemble the original bridge while implementing structural improvements The new Key Bridge will be taller to better accommodate ship traffic with the federal shipping channel expanding from to feet wide and the base raised by feet to a height of feet The bridge roadway will still be two lanes wide going in each direction Other pier sponsorship structures will be implemented to secure the structure According to the MDTA other bridge features include Two -foot lanes in each direction -foot-wide outside shoulders and -foot-wide inside shoulders per direction of progress Total Bridge length more than miles Two bridge towers more than feet tall Distance between main span pylons exceeding feet Total length of cable-stayed main span exceeding feet Expected life span of years Our new bridge will also be constructed in accordance with the majority advanced industry standards and the very best in infrastructure design Maryland Gov Moore announced We are going to use the best materials available and employ countless Marylanders to build it A need for a new Key Bridge Residents and business owners can t wait until the new Key Bridge is built Donna the general manager of Donna s Tavern in Dundalk explained her business and others nearby suffered when the bridge collapsed When the bridge came down it hurt everyone and it hurt us Donna disclosed It s tough for people getting to this side to enjoy things and we re looking forward to the new bridge coming Lauren Ratliff communicated WJZ that she has to go minutes out of her way to get to her job She explained the bridge was a big part of Baltimore s history and she wishes a few of it could be preserved In one way yes I m excited but in another way it s sad Ratliff disclosed I m just excited to see progress Donna disclosed It will be nice to have the bridge back Who is paying for the new Key Bridge In December Congress passed a deal on a federal spending package which allocated billion for tragedy relief including the entire cost of a new Key Bridge At the time Maryland Gov Wes Moore mentioned the efforts to complete the work on a new Key Bridge were on time and on budget How did Baltimore s Key Bridge collapse On March the cargo ship DALI a -foot vessel managed by Singapore-based company Synergy Marine Group lost power before crashing into the Key Bridge according to investigators Six construction workers performing road work on the bridge died after falling into the Patapsco River The National Transportation Safety Board NTSB declared the ship lost power four times in hours before the collision The NTSB blamed MDTA for not conducting a critical vulnerability assessment on the Key Bridge which it announced could have identified the structure s jeopardy of collapse The NTSB review revealed the level of pitfall for a catastrophic collapse for the Key Bridge was nearly times higher than acceptable jeopardy levels The MDTA would ve had information to proactively identify strategies to reduce the threat of a collapse and loss of lives associated with a vessel collision with the bridge MDTA chair Jennifer Homendy announced Source