Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Monday he plans to meet with members of Congress to discuss support for rebuilding the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, which has blocked the Port of Baltimore’s main shipping lane for nearly two weeks. .
“I plan to spend part of this week with our delegation, meeting with Congressional leaders and prominent members to let them know that this issue is not partisan. You can support any of the following: “It’s a patriotic responsibility to be the great economic engine of this country,” Moore said in an interview with The Associated Press. “This is an opportunity to support a port that is directly responsible for tens of thousands of jobs.”
The Maryland General Assembly adjourned Monday to approve a bill that would authorize the use of the state’s rainy day fund to assist port workers and send it to Moore’s desk. The governor signed the emergency bill on Tuesday, which was scheduled to go into effect immediately.
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The bridge collapsed on March 26 when it was struck by the cargo ship Dali, which lost power shortly after departing from Baltimore bound for Sri Lanka. The ship issued a mayday warning, giving police enough time to stop traffic, but not enough to save road construction workers filling the hole in the bridge.
Authorities believe the six workers, immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, died after falling into the Patapsco River. The remaining two survived. The bodies of the three workers have been recovered, but the search for other victims continues.
Moore said the state remains focused on supporting the families of the six workers and getting closure.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore speaks about ongoing work at the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse site and the last day of the state Legislature during an interview at the governor’s office in Annapolis, Maryland, on April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)
“We’re still very focused on bringing closure and comfort to these families and operations that can bring that closure to these families,” Moore said. “It hasn’t stopped. It’s a 24/7 operation.”
Temporary alternative routes have been secured, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced last week that it plans to open a limited access route by the end of April for container barges and some vessels moving cars and agricultural equipment. . Officials aim to restore normal shipping capacity to the Port of Baltimore by the end of May.
Moore was optimistic about the progress of reopening the channel.
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He said that if he had been told on the morning of the collapse that two channels would be launched within two weeks, “I would have thought that was really ambitious given what we had seen, but I don’t think it would have been possible. This is our current situation,” he said.
The governor also spoke about progress in debris removal, saying workers were able to pull 350 tons of steel from the Patapsco River on Sunday.
More than 50 salvage divers and 12 cranes are on site helping to cut out sections of the bridge and remove them from the main waterway. Crews began removing containers from the ship’s deck over the weekend and are moving toward removing part of the bridge at the ship’s bow so they can eventually be moved, the Unified Major Bridge Response Command said.
