Efforts to build a bridge where the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, stood until Tuesday, are estimated to cost anywhere from $400 million to several billion dollars, according to reports.
punch bowl news report — Citing sources in the Biden administration, Capitol Hill and Annapolis — dali A collision with one of the pier’s foundations would cost “billions of dollars.”
‘Mass Casualty Incident’—1.6-mile Baltimore Bridge collapses after being hit by cargo ship
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“Multiple sources estimate that the administration will request more than $1 billion from Congress to respond to the crisis. Again, this assessment is still in its early stages and nothing is set in stone yet. ” said Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman and co-founder John Bresnahan.
Sherman and Bresnahan noted that with the closure of the port, President Joe Biden may include in his request aid to the approximately 8,000 people who work at the port due to bridge debris and port remnants. dali Block port access.
“Officials say the approximately 8,000 workers at the port earn more than $2 million a day. If the port is closed for several months, the economic loss could exceed $100 million. Sherman and Bresnahan added.
It is unclear whether the “billions of dollars” estimate simply means rebuilding the bridge and providing aid to workers, or whether it also includes funding for cleanup efforts.
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Associated Press interviewed Several engineering professors gave different estimates of the cost and time it would take to build a new bridge.
Hota Gangarao, a professor at West Virginia University, told The Associated Press that building the bridge on top of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s foundation supports could reduce the bridge’s cost by as much as $400 million.
“[D]”Designers may want to install new supports farther from the transport route to avoid further collisions,” the Associated Press noted.
Sameh Badi, a professor at George Washington University, predicted that a new bridge could cost between $500 million and $1 billion, depending largely on its design. Badie also estimated that construction could be completed in about a year and a half to about two years.
He pointed out that rushing the reconstruction work would increase the cost of the project.
“Projects like this are moving quickly, so everything is going to cost a lot more,” Badi said.
Ben Schaefer, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Engineering, offered a different prediction, saying the new span might not be operational for five to seven years.
“Right now, the lead time for air conditioning for home renovations is about 16 months, right?” Schaefer said. “So you’re saying we’re going to build the whole bridge in two years? I’d like that to be true, but empirically that doesn’t seem right to me.”
