Maryland Governor and Members of Congress Meet to Discuss Support for Collapsed Bridge Reconstruction

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Governor Wes Moore said Monday that he plans to meet with members of Congress this week to discuss support for rebuilding the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, which nearly destroyed the main shipping channel in the Port of Baltimore. blocked for two weeks.

“I’m going to spend part of this week with our delegation going out there and meeting with leaders and leading members of Congress and letting them know that this issue is not partisan. This is a patriotic responsibility to be able to support one of the great economic engines 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 hiring tens of thousands of people.”

As Maryland lawmakers reached the end of their term Monday, a measure allowing the use of the state’s rainy day fund to help port workers had strong support and was expected to pass.

The bridge collapsed on March 26 after being struck by the freighter Dali, which lost power shortly after leaving Baltimore en route to Sri Lanka. The ship issued an emergency warning with just enough time for police to stop traffic, but not enough to rescue a roadwork crew that was filling holes in the bridge.

Authorities suspect that six workers – immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador – have died in the Patapsco River. Two others survived. The bodies of three workers have been recovered, but the search for the other victims continues.

Moore said the state remains focused on supporting the families of the six workers and bringing them closure.

“We are still very focused on bringing closure and comfort to these families, and the operations to be able to bring that closure to these families,” Moore said. “It hasn’t stopped. It remains a 24/7 operation.”

Temporary, alternate canals have been cleared and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said last week that it expects to open a limited-access canal by the end of April for barge container ships and some ships carrying cars and farm equipment. Officials aim to restore the Port of Baltimore to normal capacity by the end of May.

Moore was optimistic about progress in reopening canals.

He said that if he had been told on the morning of the collapse that two channels would be open in two weeks: “I would have said that sounds very ambitious given what we’ve seen, but that’s where we are now.”

The governor also touted progress in removing debris, saying crews were able to remove 350 tons (318 metric tons) of steel from the Patapsco River on Sunday.

More than 50 salvage divers and 12 cranes are on site to help cut and remove portions of the bridge from the main waterway. Crews began removing containers from the deck this weekend and are making progress in removing portions of the bridge that span the ship’s bow so it can eventually move, the Key Bridge Response Unified Command said.