Whether you’re boating on the Patapsco River or gazing out from Fort McHenry on a clear day, the remaining structure of the former Francis Scott Key Bridge is a jarring reminder of the disaster that has permanently changed the Baltimore waterfront.
Beginning Monday, July 7, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) announced the existing structures from the Key Bridge will be demolished. It’s a process that will take several months—a stark contrast from the few seconds it took most of the bridge to crumble when the M/V Dali lost power and crashed into it while attempting to leave the Port of Baltimore early on March 26, 2024.
The demolition will consist of crews “using heavy machinery to carefully dismantle the remaining portions of the Key Bridge,” MDTA says. First, the bridge deck over the river will be removed, then the sections over Hawkins Point on the Baltimore City/Anne Arundel side will be demolished, and finally, the sections over Sollers Point on the Dundalk side will go. At Hawkins Point and Sollers Point, crews will remove the deck, barriers, and parapets over the river. The landside approaches down to just below ground level will also need to be removed. Then, the north and south abutments (superstructure supports built into the embankments on each side of the old bridge) will come out.
Although the term “demolition” is commonly associated with planned explosions, MDTA says controlled detonations will not be used during this phase of the removal.
Boaters and the communities near the bridge site will see active tug and barge operations on the Patapsco, with heavy equipment and trucks on the existing bridge sections. MDTA asks that boaters avoid the area where the barges are stationed. There will be buoys marking a safety zone and speed restrictions.
A concrete crusher will be working onsite to recycle materials, rather than having to repeatedly haul the materials by truck to a recycling facility. People can expect noise from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. as the crusher, excavators, concrete saws, vacuums, cranes and trucks work. Equipment is being installed in nearby communities to monitor the noise from demolition and upcoming construction.
These sections of bridge must be removed because they interfere with the alignment of the new bridge. This operation is considered “pre-construction”, as part of the Key Bridge Rebuild project. The new bridge, which will be Maryland’s first cable-stayed bridge, will be built slightly east (or downriver) of the original structure, still within MDTA’s existing right-of-way.
The new Key Bridge will boast a minimum vertical clearance of 230 feet to support larger vessels coming and going at the Port of Baltimore. The cable-stayed bridge will have a faster construction time, lower maintenance cost, and be most economical for a bridge similar to the length of the Patapsco crossing, MDTA says.
The state is asking for modifications to its current permits, which include updates to the bridge pier foundation design and the planned pier protection elements and adjustments to the trestle configuration. The agency also says the new modifications would have less impact to tidal waters, but some additional impact to non-tidal wetlands and waterways. The MDTA says it doesn’t expect a significant increase in environmental impacts.
Permit modifications for the adjustments will have to be granted by the Maryland Board of Public Works, Maryland Department of the Environment, US Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard for construction to proceed.
Along with the pre-construction demolition, the Patapsco River will also see marine equipment being used for pile driving testing, along with more drilling and sampling on the water. Crews have already been boring into the Patapsco riverbed and on land along the bridge alignment to assess soil conditions. They have also done wind tunnel testing to see the bridge’s response to various wind loads and “scour testing”, modeling how water moves around the bridge’s foundation and pilings. This will ensure structural stability and look at impacts on the riverbed.
MDTA says it will provide “advanced public notice” two weeks before the next major activities begin. You can stay up to date at KeyBridgeRebuild.com.
