Lawmakers eye additional funding after Baltimore bridge collapse
Source: Roll Call
Posted March 26, 2024 at 12:41pm
Maryland lawmakers in Congress were already mulling legislation Tuesday to provide emergency funds to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed after being hit by a cargo ship, a source familiar with discussions said.
The bridge, which spans 1.6 miles and carries Interstate 695 over the Patapsco River and outer Baltimore Harbor, suffered a partial structural collapse after a cargo ship struck one of its support columns early Tuesday morning. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, declared a state of emergency, and state officials said in a morning news conference that they were continuing search and rescue efforts.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced it will conduct an investigation into the incident, which involved a Singapore-registered container ship, dubbed Dali, that sent out a mayday distress call before the collision. The bridge carried an estimated 12.4 million vehicles last year, according to a Maryland Transportation Authority report. It leads to the Port of Baltimore, which is one of the busiest U.S. ports for car shipments. It also handles large volumes of farm and construction machinery, agricultural products and acts as a terminal for many cruise lines.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said Tuesday morning that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was also considering providing DOT emergency funds. President Joe Biden told his team later to “ensure all federal resources be made available” for the search and rescue effort, and he continues to be briefed on the situation, the White House said through a pool report. Van Hollen said officials will switch to efforts to remove debris from the port to reopen the shipping route after search and rescue missions were complete.
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2024/03/26/lawmakers-eye-additional-funding-after-baltimore-bridge-collapse/
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