Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen spoke on the Senate floor late Tuesday, once again calling on the federal government to cover the entire cost of replacing the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
"For 47 years the Francis Scott Key Bridge has been the backdrop of millions of Marylanders' lives," Van Hollen said. "They get up in the morning. They go to work. It is an indelible part of the Baltimore city skyline and it’s part of the daily commute for over 34,000 people."
The bridge, a span of Interstate 695 that crossed over the Patapsco River, collapsed in the early morning hours of March 26 after a cargo ship crashed into it. It was a critical part of the I-95 corridor, because trucks carrying hazardous materials and oversized loads are not allowed in the I-95 or I-895 tunnels.
"When you're dealing with thousands of containers and moving many by truck, you can imagine the extra time, extra cost involved as a result of the bridge being out," Cardin said. "So it's critically important that we replace this bridge as quickly as possible."
Six construction workers were killed in the incident: Maynor Suazo Sandoval, Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Carlos Daniel Hernandez, Jose Lopez and Miguel Luna. Their bodies have all been recovered and identified as of Tuesday.
"Six hardworking Marylanders lost their lives," Van Hollen said. "And our priority from the very beginning has been, first of all, to find all the victims and to comfort their families."
As divers carefully searched for the remains of the missing construction workers, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard have worked around the clock to clear the shipping channel and reopen the Port of Baltimore. The full channel is expected to reopen by the end of May, but the port closure has been an economic disaster for the Baltimore area and beyond.
"I can't underscore too strongly the impact that this bridge collapse had on the economies of our region," Cardin said. "It was interesting that the Small Business Administration is accepting applications from every surrounding state because small businesses in surrounding states were also impacted by the channel being closed into the Port of Baltimore."
The federal Small Business Administration has opened several Business Recovery Centers to offer loans to businesses anywhere in Maryland or Delaware that have been financially impacted by the port closure. In addition, grants and loans are available from the several state government agencies in Maryland, including the Department of Commerce and the Department of Housing and Community Development.
"Less than two weeks after the collapse of the bridge, the governor and the Maryland General Assembly stepped up and passed the PORT Act which provided direct economic support through small business grants and the Port of Baltimore worker retention program and the worker support program to help those workers who lost their jobs and were not immediately eligible for unemployment benefits," Van Hollen said. "That bill also created scholarship programs for the families of those who died on the job."
Officials estimate that rebuilding the Key Bridge will take more than four years and cost almost $2 billion. For large infrastructure projects and disaster relief, the federal government typically covers up to 90% of the cost and the state pays the rest.
But during a visit to Dundalk last month, President Joe Biden promised that the federal government will pay the full cost of the Key Bridge project. Maryland's congressional delegation then introduced the Baltimore BRIDGE Relief Act to approve the funds. State and local leaders have regularly visited the Capitol in recent weeks to lobby for the bill.
"We are looking for the first opportunity to get this bill to the finish line," Cardin said. "And I would urge our colleagues to find a way to get that bill passed as quickly as possible … This is a disaster of national significance.”
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