WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is expected to visit the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Friday to see the efforts to remove the large remains. Cranes, ships, and diving teams are working to reopen one of the country’s main shipping lanes.
Biden will get updates from the U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers. Eight workers — all immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador — were fixing potholes on the bridge when it collapsed on the night of March 26. Two were saved, but only two of the six who died have been found.
The president plans to meet with the families of the victims.
Officials have created a temporary channel for clearing debris. The Army Corps of Engineers aims to open a limited-access channel for barge container ships and some vessels transporting cars and farm equipment by the end of this month and to restore normal capacity to Baltimore’s port by May 31, according to the White House.
This is crucial because longer delays in reopening shipping lanes could have a major impact on the economy. About $200 million in cargo usually moves through Baltimore’s port each day, and it is the main hub for importing and exporting vehicles.
The more pressing concern might be the costs of cleanup and building a new bridge.
The Federal Highway Administration has provided $60 million in emergency relief funds to start the process. The total cost of the collapse is uncertain, but some experts estimate that recovery will require at least $400 million and 18 months.
Biden said shortly after the collapse that “the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect the Congress to support my effort.” Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Dan Meuser criticized the promise made so quickly after the disaster, calling it “outrageous” and telling Fox News Channel, “The first reaction, in fact the only reaction, tends to be to spend.”
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was more open to Biden’s call, likening the bridge collapse to assistance provided after natural disasters and stating “the federal government will step up and do the lion’s share” of funding. However, getting authorization is likely not a sure thing in Congress.
The White House announced Friday that it is asking Congress to authorize the federal government to cover 100% of the collapsed bridge cleanup and reconstruction costs, rather than seeking funding through a separate, supplemental funding request.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young pointed out similar approaches that received bipartisan congressional support in 2007, when a highway bridge in downtown Minneapolis collapsed during evening rush hour, killing 13 people.
“We are asking the Congress to join us in demonstrating our commitment to aid in recovery efforts,” Young wrote.
The funding questions have political implications as Biden goes head-to-head with former President Donald Trump in the November election.
This is the second big disaster on the busy northeastern area in the country in the last two years. Last summer, a part of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia caught fire and fell after a tanker truck hit it. Government officials acted quickly to do temporary fixes and eventually opened that part of the highway sooner than expected.
But fixing and cleaning up in Baltimore will take a lot longer and be much more expensive, which makes it unclear if it will be a positive thing for Biden's politics – especially before Election Day.
Despite that, the Biden administration continues to support a $1 trillion-plus public construction package that was approved by Congress in 2021.
The White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week, “Let’s not forget, that infrastructure law is now going to really deal with infrastructure in a generation.” She compared that to the Trump administration, which she said made frequent promises to fund infrastructure but did nothing.
The bridge collapse has also brought attention to Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, 45, who is an important figure in Biden’s campaign to get young voters to support the 81-year-old president.
The president himself has traveled around the country showing construction projects on highways, bridges and tunnels. In 2022, he went to an event in Pittsburgh just hours after a nearby bridge collapsed. The president also promoted the public construction package, reflecting his love for train travel and many years of commuting to and from Washington on Amtrak as a senator from Delaware.
Biden said last week that the Key bridge was one “I’ve been over many, many times commuting.”
