March 26, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapses after ship collision

Radio traffic in the moments before a cargo ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore captures how authorities stopped traffic and worked to clear the bridge before the impact.

Officials warned of the ship approaching the bridge, according to a Broadcastify recording of the transmissions.

"I need one of you guys on the south side, one of you guys on the north side, hold all traffic on the Key Bridge. There's a ship approaching that just lost their steering so until we get that under control, we've got to stop all traffic," the person said.

In the audio, units reported that the bridge had collapsed about 90 seconds later. CNN has confirmed that the bridge collapsed at 1:27 a.m. ET.

“Do we know what traffic was stopped?” another person later said.

“I can’t get to the other side, sir. The bridge is down," another person responded.

John Zimmerman was an ironworker who helped build the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in the 1970s. He was woken up by his wife early this morning to turn on the news after news broke of the accident.

From looking at the footage, he says it appears that the dolphins, the concrete bumpers around the pilings meant to protect the structure, didn’t work because of the exact place and way the ship hit. He speculates that the ship seems to have perhaps avoided the bumpers or only side-swiped them.

He said, unfortunately, the ship seemed to have hit at the most vulnerable part of the bridge.

“It looks like it hit the only spot it could have hit to take the whole thing down,” he said. “It hit at probably the weakest part of the bridge.”

Zimmerman, who is now 83 years old, worked on the bridge for two years in the 1970s as a local 16 ironworker.

Officials are conducting search and rescue efforts in Baltimore on Tuesday after a cargo ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse. At least eight people were on the bridge when it fell, and at least six of them are still unaccounted for, according to Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld.

But, weather conditions in and above the water of the Patapsco River could complicate search and rescue operations, CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam said.

A full moon spring tide is bringing two main impacts: coastal flood advisories around the Chesapeake Bay and dangerous rip currents, Van Dam said.

Another contributing factor is the way the water is moving. Water from the Patapsco River will flow out of Baltimore Harbor as low tide approaches Tuesday afternoon. Then, during high tides, there will be a reversal, with water coming back into the harbor. Van Dam said this could mean more difficult conditions for search and rescue boats.

Additionally, the cold water temperatures could be dangerous for people still in the water. Right now, the water in the Patapsco River is about 40-50 degrees. The human survivability at that temperature is one to three hours.

Family members of workers who were on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed are still searching for answers nearly 12 hours later, they told CNN outside a construction business Tuesday.

The family members, who declined to give their names, were at Brawner Builders construction agency picking up vehicles belonging to their relatives.

One woman said that her brother worked for the company and survived the bridge collapse. She said he was released from the hospital but was not doing well, declining to add more detail while his wife sat silently in tears while CNN spoke with his sister.

Another young woman said two of her immediate family members are still missing, she told CNN, adding one of her uncles, who worked at Brawner for a long time, loved his job there. It’s unclear if he was among the missing.

CNN reached out to Brawner Builders but they declined to comment.

Six people remain unaccounted for, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said Tuesday morning.

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that it’s his intention that the “federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstruction in that bridge.”

It’s possible that some of the funding could come from the bipartisan infrastructure law – one of Biden’s key legislative accomplishments that passed in 2021. It authorized $550 billion in new federal investments. As with any massive spending package with hundreds of funding streams, it's difficult to track exactly how much money remains. But the money is being disbursed over a five-year period, so there will be funds available through 2026. 

Most of the money passes through the US Department of Transportation and is awarded to states and projects on an annual basis through one of two ways:

After a 447-foot-long, four-lane bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh in 2022 — hours before Biden was scheduled to visit the city — money from the infrastructure law helped rebuild the bridge quickly without affecting funding for other critical projects in the region. The bridge reopened within one year.

President Joe Biden said he will visit Baltimore soon following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge Tuesday morning.

Responding to a question about whether he planned to visit Baltimore, Biden said, "I do, and as quickly as I can."

The president did not provide specifics on when he plans to visit.

President Joe Biden said Tuesday he wants the federal government to bear the full cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key bridge after it collapsed in Baltimore Tuesday morning.

That could include funding from the Federal Highway Administration, as well as funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that provides competitive grants to improve the nation’s bridges. But it could require additional funding from Congress.

"It's my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge," Biden said from the White House. "I expect the Congress to support my effort — this is going to take some time."

Responding to a reporter who asked whether the company who owns the container vessel Dali, which collided with the bridge and caused the collapse, should pay for the bridge's reconstruction, Biden said, "We're not going to wait for that to happen."

He continued, “I’ve directed my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible,” adding that the federal government will work “hand in hand” with the state of Maryland. 

There is no indication that the collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore was the result of an intentional act, President Joe Biden said from the White House Tuesday morning.

The president promised a large response from the federal government, and said he has spoken with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, along with Maryland's two senators.

Biden noted he has traveled over the Francis Scott Key bridge "many, many times" during his commutes between Washington, DC and Delaware.

President Joe Biden is addressing the Tuesday morning collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore from the White House.

The remarks come ahead of a trip to North Carolina Biden is taking with Vice President Kamala Harris.

The White House earlier Tuesday tweeted a picture of Biden being briefed on the collapse in the Oval Office with senior White House advisers.

The president will continue to receive updates about the collapse and search-and-rescue efforts throughout the day, the White House said.