Members of Maryland’s congressional delegation submitted a bill Thursday that would require the federal government to fund the full cost of reconstructing the Baltimore Bridge, which collapsed after a ship struck it last month.
Democratic senators introduced the legislation. Ben Cardin, Chris Van Hollen, and all eight Maryland House members: Kweisi Mfume (D), Andy Harris (R), Steny Hoyer (D), Dutch Ruppersberger (D), John Sarbanes (D), Jamie Raskin (D), David Trone (D), and Glenn Ivey (D).
According to a press release, Van Hollen said, “Team Maryland is putting forward this bipartisan legislation to ensure the federal government covers the full cost of rebuilding the bridge as safely and quickly as possible — and that federal taxpayers benefit from any monies recovered from those found responsible.”
The Baltimore Bridge Response Invests and Delivers Global Economic Relief Act proposes “amending the federal cost-share requirement” for the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program for Disaster-Damaged Highways and Bridges.
It would ensure that the federal government covers the entire cost of repairing Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed in late March after being hit by a cargo ship.
When reconstructing disaster-damaged roadways and bridges, the federal government normally pays 90% of the costs, with the state covering the remaining 10%, but exceptions have been made in other emergency cases, Cardin noted during a press conference this week.
The freight vessel, the Dali, lost power while leaving Baltimore Harbor and collided with the bridge. Since then, the Baltimore port has been closed, and traffic has been diverted to temporary channels while crews work to remove debris.
Six of the eight construction workers on the bridge that night died in the collapse. The Coast Guard has initiated retrieval efforts for three bodies that are still missing.
“The abrupt collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was both a human and economic tragedy for Maryland and the country. “While we continue to mourn the loss of life and this icon of our skyline, we can also begin to work to heal the wounds left by this disaster,” Cardin said in a statement Thursday.
President Biden toured the bridge last week and stated that he expects the Baltimore Port to reopen by the end of May.
It is uncertain how much a new bridge would cost, although estimates range into the billions of dollars.