A year after the Baltimore bridge collapse, a long road to recovery is ahead

BALTIMORE (AP) — A year after the catastrophic collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland leaders are honoring the six construction workers who were killed that night when the road they were repairing buckled underneath them.

“Ever since that moment, we’ve done everything in that vein to remember, first, those people that we lost,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said after a ceremony commemorating the anniversary. “That’s what today is about.”

While police were able to stop traffic in the moments before a massive cargo ship plowed into the bridge, they didn’t have time to alert the overnight roadwork crew.

After the collapse, the Port of Baltimore was closed for months since debris blocked its main shipping channel. It made an impressive rebound during the second half of 2024, but now the Trump administration’s tariffs could threaten its ongoing recovery.

Just last week, federal investigators criticized the Maryland Transportation Authority for failing to determine and address the bridge’s vulnerability to ship strikes — despite major changes in maritime shipping since it opened to traffic in 1977. They called upon other bridge owners to learn from the example.

In the meantime, Maryland drivers are without the Key Bridge, which connected various port-oriented industrial communities north and south of Baltimore, allowing people to easily bypass downtown. Traffic has since increased significantly on the main alternate routes.

Named after the man who penned the national anthem during the War of 1812, the Key Bridge was a beloved feature of Baltimore’s skyline and a symbol of its proud working-class history.

Here’s what to know about the bridge’s collapse — and its replacement.

When disaster struck

It was just after 2 a.m. on March 26, 2024, when Gov. Wes Moore got a call from his chief of staff, Fagan Harris. His words weren’t easy to grasp: “Governor, I’m sorry to tell you, but the Key Bridge is gone,” Moore recounted to The Associated Press.

“What do you mean ‘gone?’” the governor remembered asking.

Moore soon learned that a ship had lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s supporting columns, killing the six workers — whose assignment that night was filling potholes on the bridge.

Once he grasped the scale of the tragedy, Moore said, the morning became a stream of phone calls.

“It was just chaos going on at that moment, because I knew that Marylanders were … hours away from waking up to realize that one of the greatest tragedies in our state’s history had just occurred,” Moore said.

Collective shock and progress

People gathered by the water’s edge to view the wreckage. In the weeks and months that followed, they watched as crews worked diligently to clear the wreckage.

Initially blocked by debris, the main shipping channel to the Port of Baltimore reopened in 11 weeks.

“We got it done in 11 weeks, because we cut through the red tape,” Moore said. “We cut through bureaucracy, and we worked together as a state — as local leadership, federal leadership, the military, the private sector, everyone worked so well together.”

Honoring the victims

On Tuesday, city and state leaders invited the victims’ families to visit the collapse site for a wreath-laying ceremony.

About a dozen relatives boarded the city’s fireboat, which chugged steadily toward the mouth of the Patapsco River where the Key Bridge once stood. As they approached its skeletal remains, the mood turned somber, punctuated by the sound of two women weeping.

One by one, family members stepped to the back of the boat and tossed wreaths of yellow and white flowers into the water, watching them drift away.

The six men were all Latino immigrants who came to the U.S. seeking better wages and brighter futures. Most had lived in the country for many years and worked hard to support their families.

“The victims were just doing their job, and that’s just tragic,” said Baltimore police Det. Aaron Jackson, a member of the department’s dive team who helped recover the bodies during a painstaking search process that lasted several weeks. “But we’re glad we could bring some level of closure.”

A new bridge in the works

Officials say the new bridge should be finished sometime in 2028.

They unveiled designs last month for what will become Maryland’s first cable-stayed bridge. It could cost upwards of $1.7 billion but Congress has agreed to cover the full price tag for rebuilding.

Crews have been conducting soil testing and other work to finalize the designs. They plan to demolish the remaining pieces of the Key Bridge this spring.

Officials have said the designs will include the latest in pier protection technology, which has become increasingly important as cargo ships continue to get bigger and carry more cargo. The bridge will also be taller to provide more clearance.

Baltimore’s port rebounds

Last month, the port announced that 2024 ended up being one of its most productive years — with 45.9 million tons of cargo passing through its facilities — second only to the year before, which saw a record 52.3 million tons.

The port also processed more farm and construction machinery than any other port in the country again in 2024. It ranked second for cars and light trucks, officials said.

Daraius Irani, chief economist for the Regional Economic Studies Institute at Towson University, described the rebound as “sort of a miracle.”

But he said the potential impacts of the Trump administration’s tariffs present an ominous cloud, especially because roughly a quarter of the port’s total imports come from Mexico, Canada and China. Tariffs could mean fewer goods will pass through the port, which would lead to reduced revenue, Irani said.

Ongoing federal investigations

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating what caused the collapse, said its final report could be released in fall 2025.

Meanwhile, the board issued urgent safety recommendations last week, telling bridge owners to conduct vulnerability assessments. The recommendations apply to 30 owners of 68 bridges across 19 states.

The board is still investigating what caused the cargo ship Dali to lose power as it approached the Key Bridge. In an earlier update, investigators said they discovered a loose cable that could have caused electrical issues on the Dali. The ship experienced blackouts twice in the hours before it left the Port of Baltimore en route to Sri Lanka.

The FBI also opened a criminal investigation into the circumstances leading up to the collapse but haven’t yet provided any updates.