(The Center Square) – Rebuilding Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge is expected to cost between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion, and the new span is not projected to open to traffic until late 2030, according to new updates.
The Maryland Transportation Authority said its board plans to update the financial forecast to reflect the new estimate. The bridge collapsed in March 2024 after the cargo ship Dali hit a support pier. Six construction workers were killed, and the crash shut off a major route into the Port of Baltimore.
Acting Transportation Secretary and Transportation Authority Chairwoman Samantha J. Biddle said in a statement that early estimates were prepared less than two weeks after the collapse. She said material costs for all aspects of the project “have increased drastically” since those first numbers.
She said the updated range and timeline are directly tied to higher material costs and a more robust pier protection system designed to reduce the chance of another ship striking the bridge’s foundational piers.
The agency pointed to preconstruction activities, updated datapoints, and advanced design work, which were not available in the immediate days after the collapse, as the basis for the new estimate.
The Federal Highway Administration reports that highway construction costs have increased about 72% over the past five years. The Transportation Authority said the cost of raw materials and labor remains in flux and that contractors are factoring inflation risk into their bids.
The new bridge will also be larger than the one it replaces. The Transportation Authority said the main span has increased to 1,665 feet to accommodate larger marine traffic and to meet current bridge design guidelines.
The agency said the pier protection system, which was not fully accounted for in early estimates, adds significant cost. The protective fenders around the piers are larger than a football field, and the towers needed to support both the longer span and a 230-foot bridge deck height are costing more than originally assumed.
Executive Director Bruce Gartner of the Transportation Authority said the state moved faster than usual to produce a preliminary estimate because it was needed to request federal emergency relief funds.
Gartner said the Key Bridge rebuild reached 70% design in 14 months, compared to other large projects that average about seven years of planning before design and preconstruction work even begin.
If the final cost lands near the top of the current range, the Key Bridge rebuild would be among the most expensive bridge projects in the country. New York’s Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge cost about $4 billion. The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project between Ohio and Kentucky is estimated at roughly $3.6 billion. Virginia’s I-95 Express Lanes Fredericksburg Extension cost under $1 billion.
Under the American Relief Act, Congress authorized more than $8 billion for the federal Emergency Relief Program and set the federal share at 100% for expenses tied to the Dali’s destruction of the bridge.
The Transportation Authority said the state is working to limit the burden on federal taxpayers by pursuing the Dali’s owner and manager in court for all damages caused by the ship, including the cost to rebuild the bridge.
“Just as families across the country are dealing with the reality of increased costs, so is Maryland,” it said in a statement. “Trade policies out of Washington have raised prices on essential materials needed to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, but our resolve is unwavering.”
Design and preconstruction work continues and groundbreaking for the new bridge is expected in the coming months.
