State, federal leaders focus on rebuild after Key Bridge collapse and closure of Port of Baltimore

BALTIMORE - Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the rebuild of the Francis Scott Key Bridge will take time and it won't be cheap.

However, the goal is to get Baltimore's landmark up and the Port of Baltimore back to business.

"I do not know what the total costs are going to be. I do not yet know what the full timeline is going to be," Moore said. "But the thing that I do know is that the task in front of us, it will be real and it will be daunting. Despite this task ahead of being daunting, I can tell you right now our resolve is unshaken. We will get to completion. We will do it together."

The Baltimore bridge was shattered around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday when a large cargo ship crashed into one of the columns. The destruction of the bridge sent eight contracted construction workers into the water.

Two were rescued, two were recovered and four others are presumed to be dead.

Officials at a press conference on Wednesday said the first priority is to remove the debris from the Patapsco River, which will be assisted by the Army Corps of Engineers so that the shipping lanes can reopen.

"The most urgent priority is to open the Port of Baltimore because it is essential to the livelihood of people here in Baltimore, in Maryland, and the economies across our country and around the world," U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen said.

Maryland submitted a request to the federal government for emergency relief funds in the efforts the rebuild the Key Bridge and reopen the port.

After receiving some of the federal funds, the state will design the replacement for the bridge.

"We have applied for the federal dollars that are available for this type of purpose," said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Weidefeld. "We intend to receive some federal dollars quickly and then we will start with the design for the replacement of the bridge to the port and get the community back up and running."

"We are working on a replacement bridge so we can have those plans in place and have the tools and resources available so that we can reconstruct the bridge as quickly as possible," added  U.S. Senator Ben Cardin.

President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he intends to push the federal government to pay for the entire reconstruction of the bridge, and pledged to work with Maryland leaders to provide as much support as possible.

"It is my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect the Congress to support my effort," Biden said, adding that he plans to visit Baltimore as soon as he can.

Van Hollen said it was too early to put a price tag on what it will cost to replace the bridge, and he called on Congress to work together to quickly provide the resources.

"This is an American challenge," Van Hollen said. "We are a great American city here in Baltimore. We are hoping all of our colleagues come together and join us in making sure we rebuild the bridge."

Officials say that the longer it takes to reopen the channel to the Port of Baltimore, it could continue to be catastrophic for the state and the country.

"When you have a catastrophic event like this that affects transportation infrastructure that's critically important to our region, the federal government comes to your help," Cardin said. "We are asking the federal government to help us through this crisis."