US Army Corps of Engineers plans to reopen Baltimore channel affected by bridge collapse by end of May

Just over a week after the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the US Army Corps of Engineers announced it plans to fully reopen the channel leading to the Baltimore port by the end of May – a significant update since the disaster halted vessel traffic and delivered a serious blow to a port critical to local and national economies.

Just over a week after the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the US Army Corps of Engineers announced it plans to fully reopen the channel leading to the Baltimore port by the end of May – a significant update since the disaster halted vessel traffic and delivered a serious blow to a port critical to local and national economies. Crews have been working to remove wreckage from the site where a massive cargo ship slammed into the bridge in the early morning hours of March 26, causing the structure to collapse into the channel and killing six construction workers. Officials are still working to find four of their bodies. In a news release, the US Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District said it plans to open a “limited access channel” roughly 280 feet wide to the Port of Baltimore by the end of April. “This channel would support one-way traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore for barge container service and some roll on/roll off vessels that move automobiles and farm equipment to and from the port,” the unit said. “USACE engineers are aiming to reopen the permanent, 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep federal navigation channel by the end of May, restoring port access to normal capacity,” it added. Authorities have said clearing the channel will not only reopen a port that’s critical to the economy, but it will also allow for the continued search for the bodies of four construction workers. Officials believe they are likely trapped in the tangle of steel and concrete underwater.