The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has outlined a tentative timeline for reopening commercial shipping in Baltimore after a cargo ship caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. A limited access channel will be opened by the end of the month, with a full reopening expected to take longer. The incident resulted in the death of two road repair crew members and left four missing.
Key Points
Tentative timeline for restoration of safe navigation in and out of the Port of Baltimore.
Limited access channel will support one-way traffic for barge container service and some roll on/roll off vessels.
Full clearing of the channel and removal of the MV Dali, which caused the bridge collapse, pose significant challenges.
Pros
Limited access channel opening by end of the month allows for one-way traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore.
Larger ships will be able to enter and leave the harbour, providing some relief to the Baltimore economy.
Cons
Full reopening of the port is expected to take longer than initially planned.
Large ships will still be unable to access the port until the federal channel reopens.