Maryland awarded $60 million by US govt to clear debris and begin rebuilding
\n Baltimore
\nThe biggest operational crane on the US Eastern Seaboard towered over Baltimore\u2019s port on Friday, ready to begin clearing the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge days after a cargo ship crashed into it, sending the span crashing into the harbor.
\nCrews were still surveying the damage as of midday Friday. The crane, which can lift up to 1,000 tons, arrived late Thursday night and will probably start hauling debris out of the water on Saturday morning, according to US Coast Guard spokesperson Carmen Carver.
\nA second crane is en route and expected to arrive soon to assist the effort, she said.
\nState and federal authorities are focused on clearing the busy port and rebuilding the bridge after the Dali, a massive container ship that had lost power, plowed into a support column early on Tuesday, toppling the structure and leaving six workers presumed dead.
\nDivers have recovered two bodies of the missing construction workers, who were repairing the bridge at the time of the collision. The remaining four are believed to be trapped beneath the water. All were immigrants from Mexico and Central America.
\nFinding the remaining bodies is the top priority, Maryland Governor Wes Moore told a press conference on Thursday. Crews must also assess how to remove the stuck vessel, loaded with thousands of containers and trapped by bridge debris.
\n\u201cThe Dali is almost as long as the Eiffel Tower, and the Dali has the Key Bridge on top of it. We\u2019re talking 3,000 or 4,000 tons of steel that\u2019s sitting on top of that ship, so we\u2019ve got work to do,\u201d Moore said at Thursday\u2019s press conference.
\nWithin hours of Moore\u2019s request for emergency funds, the US government on Thursday had awarded Maryland $60 million to clear debris and begin rebuilding the bridge, a reflection of how critical the infrastructure is to shipping and transportation industries along the Eastern Seaboard.
\nThree days after the tragedy, the jobs of some 15,000 people whose work revolves around daily port operation are on hold. Maryland lawmakers are looking to pass emergency legislation to provide income replacement for those affected, the state senate president said this week.
\nThe situation poses a temporary risk to the area\u2019s economy, since the port receives the greatest share of US auto imports and is one of just four on the US east coast with the 50-foot channel needed for larger cargo boats, bond rating agency Moody\u2019s Investors Service said.
\nReplacing the 47-year-old bridge will likely require \u201cyears of work,\u201d but the port, whose operations recently surpassed pre-pandemic levels, could reopen within weeks, \u201cif debris is rapidly removed,\u201d according to a Moody\u2019s report.
\n\u201cAs long as the port is closed, diversion of automotive imports and other cargo to other East Coast ports will erode Baltimore\u2019s advantage as the port closest to the Midwest, to the detriment of terminal operators,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maryland awarded $60 million by US govt to clear debris and begin rebuilding Baltimore The biggest operational crane on the US Eastern Seaboard towered over Baltimore\u2019s port on Friday, ready to begin clearing the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge days after a cargo ship crashed into it, sending the span crashing into the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-397472","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n