BALTIMORE (AP) – President Joe Biden said Tuesday he plans to travel to Baltimore “as quickly as I can” and that he plans for the federal government to pick up the entire cost of reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed earlier in the day after a container ship lost power and struck it.
“We’re going to rebuild that port together,” Biden said in brief remarks from the White House, shortly before departing for North Carolina.
The president said he expects lawmakers on Capitol Hill to support his bid to ensure the U.S. government pays for rebuilding the bridge.
“This is going to take some time,” Biden said. “The people of Baltimore can count on us, though, to stick with them at every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt.”
Biden’s expected challenger in the presidential race this year, Republican Donald Trump, as of midday Tuesday has not commented publicly on the bridge collapse.
Authorities are piecing together what led to the bridge collapse in Baltimore. But so far, we know that Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said a large cargo ship lost power and issued a mayday call moments before it struck the bridge early Tuesday, though it was still moving toward the span at a rapid speed.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge broke apart and tumbled into the Patapsco River. Two people were rescued. But officials say they haven’t been able to account for six others.
The Baltimore Orioles have canceled a workout and rally for fans that had been planned for Tuesday night.
The event at Oriole Park at Camden Yards was part of the leadup to Thursday’s Opening Day, when the team will host the Los Angeles Angels. Instead, the team said, the event was canceled in light of the bridge collapse.
“Baltimore, we’re a tight-knit and resilient community,” the team posted on X. “Together we will get through this.”
The bridge did not appear to have pier protection to withstand the cargo ship crash, according to a professor of civil and environmental engineering.
Professor Roberto Leon, of Virginia Tech, said he reviewed the video of the crash Tuesday.
“If a bridge pier without adequate protection is hit by a ship of this size, there is very little that the bridge could do,” Leon said.
Maryland recently retrofitted another bridge with pier protection devices for about $100 million, he said.
It’s expensive, but the price would pale in comparison with expected losses from the damaged bridge, including additional miles driven, fuel and business costs, he said.
Donald Heinbuch, a retired fire chief for Baltimore, said he was startled awake by a deep rumbling that shook his house for several seconds.
“It felt like an earthquake,” he said. “Or like rolling thunder.”
Heinbuch turned on his police scanner and discovered the noise had come from the nearby bridge, a favored fishing spot that he’d driven over countless times. He said he rushed to the scene in shock.
“The ship was there, and the bridge was in the water, like it was blown up,” he said.
Heinbuch said he watched divers slip into their gear and coordinate a rescue plan as pontoon boats made their way to shore. Several departments also offered help, he said.
“All these little things that we practiced all the time had to be put in place,” Heinbuch said. “Everyone acted fast … even as the significance of what had happened was still sinking in.”
The most recent federal data shows the bridge was rated as being in fair condition overall before the crash.
The Federal Highway Administration rates bridges on the condition of their individual components. In a national bridge inventory released in June, inspectors rated the Key Bridge’s deck, substructure and superstructure — or the component that absorbs the live traffic load — as satisfactory.
The bridge carried an estimated 30,800 vehicles a day on average in 2019. According to the Maryland Transportation Authority, that translates to about 11.3 million vehicles a year across the bridge, which was built in the 1970s and was 1.6 miles (2.6 kilometers) long.
