March 29, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapse

It could be days before the first piece of the massive wreckage of the Key Bridge can be cut and lifted out of the way, according to the Commanding General of the US Army Corps of Engineers.   

More than 1,100 engineers in Baltimore and across the country are studying the wreckage piece by piece to figure out how to remove it. 

“I believe it will be several more days of this type of analysis before we can start cutting and lifting members," Scott A. Spellmon told CNN in a phone interview Friday.    

"There is a massive steel truss bridge going across that channel and at the bottom, 50 feet down there is possibly some containers and other heavy debris that we have to get off the floor," Spellmon said.

He compared the twisted steel to a stretched rubber band that could snap when cut and said that engineers must figure out how to safely separate it into manageable pieces before cranes can get to work.   

An immigrant advocacy group stressed the dangers construction workers face after several men died when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed this week.

CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres called it a "somber moment" Friday in honoring the workers. He said essential workers, like the men on the bridge, perform dangerous yet critical construction industry work at significant personal risk so people can live their lives. 

The six people presumed dead were from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The bodies of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes from Mexico and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera from Guatemala have been recovered, officials said earlier this week. They were filling potholes on the bridge when it was hit by a container ship on Tuesday.

The goal of the CASA is to improve "the quality of life in work-class" minority and immigrant communities, according to its website.

Two of the workers whose bodies have not yet been recovered were part of the organization — Miguel Luna and Maynor Suazo Sandoval. The CASA said it set up a donation to help their families, as well as the other four victims who passed away in the bridge collapse.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the recovery effort after the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge will take time, and he was reluctant to provide a timeline.

Moore said officials have to prioritize the safety of those doing the work as well as environmental impacts and completion. 

He noted officials are “focusing on moving speedily and getting it done quickly.”

“I want this done quickly. I want it done right,” he said. “We are committed to getting it done and you can bet on it we are going to get this done. But this is going to be a long road.” 

Col. Estee Pinchasin of the US Army Corps of Engineers said progress is being made. 

"I know right now everyone wants to see things moving, you need to know, you need to trust that behind the scenes, it's moving."

The post was updated with more information from Gov. Moore and Col. Estee Pinchasin.

President Joe Biden told reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Friday that he will travel to Baltimore next week. 

Maryland State Police divers are on standby to return to the wreck site to continue to look for the bodies of the workers who are presumed dead, the superintendent said Friday.

Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said the divers will “examine what’s beneath the wreckage and recover any of these individuals that perished in this unfortunate incident” once conditions are safe.

The bodies of two people were recovered Wednesday. Authorities then paused recovery efforts for the four other workers because concrete and other debris made it unsafe for divers.

The post has been updated with more details on the recovery effort.

Coast Guard Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath detailed the progress made so far on authorities' number 1 priority — reopening the channel that was affected by the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge.

There are three phases in this task, Gilreath said Friday:

There has been progress in Phase 1, Gilreath noted.

Remember: Gov. Wes Moore said the bridge part sitting on top of the ship will need to be cut up in pieces to be removed by cranes because it weighs 3,000 tons to 4,000 tons, which is far greater than what the biggest crane available right now can lift.

Clearing the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge from the waterway is a high priority because it has local and national economic impacts, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Friday.

Closer to the Midwest than any other port on the East Coast, Baltimore is a major hub for vehicles, containers and commodities. Baltimore ranks first among US ports for autos and light trucks, handling a record 850,000 vehicles last year.

Baltimore is also the leading US port for farming and construction machinery, as well as imports of sugar and gypsum, and the second in the country for exporting coal.

“Maryland's economy and Maryland's workers rely on us to move quickly but that's not just Maryland. The nation's economy and the nation's workers are requiring us to move quickly,” Moore said.

The post was updated with more details on the importance of Baltimore's port to the US economy.

The Chesapeake 1000, the largest crane on the East Coast that is currently docked near the Francis Scott Key Bridge, can lift about 1,000 tons — but the challenge is that the part of the bridge sitting on the top of the vessel is between 3,000 to 4,000 tons, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Friday.

To help with this massive task, the Navy will supply Maryland with four heavy-lift cranes, Moore added. "Two have already arrived, one arrives tonight, and the fourth is arriving on Monday.”

“In the coming weeks We expect to have the following entities inside of the water: seven floating cranes, 10 tugs, nine barges, eight salvage vessels and five Coast Guard boats,” he added.

Seeing the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge up close underscored to officials how difficult it will be to clear the channel, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said on Friday.

He called the cleanup efforts a “remarkably complex operation.”

He said teams from various agencies and the Coast Guard went to survey the damage and view the ship, which “is nearly the size of the Eiffel Tower.”

He said crews will have to navigate obstacles like high wind and electrical wires. The governor explained that officials need to reassess the operation with every piece of bridge debris that is moved.