Efforts to rebuild the recently collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge near Baltimore, Maryland, could soon become a multi-year quagmire as a result of environmental bureaucracy under the Biden administration, experts say Daily -Told the Caller News Foundation.
In late March, a container ship traveling from the Port of Baltimore across the Patapsco River collided with the Baltimore Bridge, knocking several cars and workers into the water and rendering the passage unusable. It’s unclear exactly how long it will take to rebuild the bridge, as authorities may speed up the process, but experts have told the DCNF that the government’s He warned that red tape could delay construction of the bridge after the debris is cleared. It will be removed from the site and new plans will be drawn up for a replacement bridge. (Related: New Biden administration rules will benefit insurance companies at the expense of consumers, experts say)
Ryan Young, senior economist at the Institute for Competitive Enterprise, told DCNF that “five years is a reasonable deadline if the bridge is to receive special regulatory treatment.” “There’s some hope in this, given the collapse of Interstate 95 near Philadelphia last year, which reopened after 12 days thanks to red tape being waived. It would have taken months. Of course, it was a much smaller project.”
After the disaster, the Biden administration announced It plans to send $60 million to Baltimore City to help clean up and rebuild, but that’s far from the amount needed to fully rebuild the project. President Joe Biden has also promised to pay for the full cost of rebuilding the bridge, pending approval from Congress. according to to Reuters.
The official cost of the new bridge has not yet been announced, but some estimates put it at about $500 million to up to $1 billion, depending on the size and design of the project, according to the Associated Press. The original bridge construction cost was only $60.3 million, but according to On CNN.
“There could be multiple paths to Key Bridge’s recovery, but there are two that we need to focus on. and secondly, what adjustments are being made to support efforts to help communities achieve a more resilient recovery.” We need to work together at the federal level,” Brian Kavanaugh, visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told DCNF.
A similar bridge accident occurred in 1980, when a cargo ship crashed into the Sunshine Skyway in Tampa Bay, Florida. according to To the Associated Press. Construction of the new bridge was completed in 1987, seven years later. He was 19 months behind his original completion schedule and $20 million over budget.
“Federal and state regulations, including those in Maryland, give NIMBYs and environmentalists many ways to block projects,” Young told DCNF. “We hope Keybridge’s high profile will help curb their worst anti-development impulses, but that’s no guarantee.”
Many large infrastructure projects are often bogged down by environmental reviews, such as California’s high-speed rail project, which has spent more than $600 million in environmental reviews since it was approved by voters more than 15 years ago.
A view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after its collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, published on March 26, 2024. Harford County Maryland Fire and His EMS/Distribution via Reuters This image was provided by a third party and may not be resold.No required credits for archives
“My concern here is that people may create an environmental review expressing concerns, such as the oyster population or whether there are birds breeding in the Patapsco River or the water quality.” Kavanaugh told DCNF. “All of these can be easily triggered through the federal review process and can be protracted. These reviews are not always efficient. Their effectiveness is up to others to judge. However, it is certainly not promoted.”
The Biden administration has expanded the National Environmental Review Framework, reversing changes made by the Trump administration to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that required federal agencies to review the environmental impacts of projects before approval. With NEPA’s average environmental impact report from 2010 to 2018 taking four-and-a-half years to complete and construction halted entirely, environmental review could bog down the process if the federal government remains involved in the project. There is sex. according to Submitted to the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
“For several reasons, the cost of rebuilding will almost certainly be higher than the original bridge, but we don’t know by how much,” Young told DCNF. “A good rule of thumb is Edwards’ Law: The cost is usually at least twice the amount originally proposed by the authorities.”
Some analysts say the entire process could take up to 10 years, after cleaning the site, drawing up new plans and building the bridge. according to Head over to WYPR, a local outlet in Baltimore.It took 6 years to build the transcontinental railroad.
“I’m concerned that the cost of regulation will have a greater impact than people believe,” Kavanaugh told DCNF. “Depending on what kind of birds are flying in the area, what kind of fish are in the Patapsco River, etc., the cost of studying that and mitigating the negative impacts is an issue, depending on what kind of design you use. Mitigation measures to make bridges more resilient and safer will come at an additional cost. But this is an additional cost for bridges as they are currently built that is not captured by inflation.”
The Maryland Governor’s Office deferred the DCNF’s remarks to an earlier press conference. The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
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