- The Francis Scott Key Bridge had four lanes, but no train tracks
- Amtrak runs around the Port of Baltimore and does not cross it
- The White House said Biden was referring to driving a car across the bridge
President Joe Biden confused Baltimore residents and commuters on Tuesday after he recalled traveling by train over Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed after it was struck by a container ship.
“A container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which I have crossed many, many times traveling from the state of Delaware, either by train or by car,” Biden said.
The 2.6-mile arch and truss bridge has four lanes of Interstate 695 road traffic crossing the Patapsco River and the Outer Port of Baltimore, but excludes train tracks.
US President Joe Biden recalled traveling by train over the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore
A cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning, causing it to collapse
Biden spent his decades-long political career in Congress traveling by Amtrak train from Washington DC to his home in Delaware.
The Amtrak train route includes a stop in Baltimore, but goes around the harbor without crossing it.
The White House disputed reports of the president’s poor memory of his commute.
“The president clearly described driving over the bridge while commuting between Delaware and D.C. during his 36-year career in the Senate,” White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said in a speech. rack to the New York Post.
Biden pledged in a speech Tuesday that he would “move heaven and earth” to rebuild the bridge and reopen the Port of Baltimore as quickly as possible, even as he acknowledged that would take time.
“It is my intention that the federal government will pay the full cost of the reconstruction of that bridge, and I expect Congress will support my efforts,” he said.