Posted on 11/18/2025 7:52:22 AM PST by Red Badger
The rebuilding cost of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge has more than doubled, and has a new expected opening of late 2030.
The Key Bridge, which collapsed in March 2024 after being hit by a cargo ship, is now projected to cost $4.3 billion to $5.2 billion to rebuild, up from the previous cost estimate of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion, CNN reported. The bridge was also originally expected to be completed by 2028.
“Preliminary cost and project time estimates were made less than two weeks after the initial crash and before any engineering or design studies were conducted,” Maryland Democrat Gov. Wes Moore said Monday.
“Since then, national economic conditions have deteriorated and material costs have increased. At the same time, elevated costs have resulted from federal design and resilience standards – not discretionary state choices.”
As many as 35,000 vehicles a day traveled across the bridge before the ship ran into one of its pillars, resulting in the death of six people.
Maryland's acting Transportation Secretary and Maryland Transportation Authority Chairwoman Samantha J. Biddle gave a similar explanation about the higher costs and projected completion date.
“The updated cost range and schedule are directly correlated to increased material costs and to a robust pier protection system designed to protect the new Key Bridge and reduce the likelihood of a future ship strike to the bridge’s foundational piers.”
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
So no money from the ship’s insurance? Always the taxpayers have to pay...
Standard govt construction time line is 20 years, so that is 2045. Twenty years is also the standard govt retirement program time line. Funny, that!
Up 2X from the initial estimate. Can they really come in at $4.3-5.2 B? Or will it double again like the Cal choo-choo?
I bet it falls down a week after co pelt ion in 2045.
Of course
Anyone with a brain knew they low-balled the estimate
Have to make sure those DEI contractors get there fair share.
Recent Harbor Bridge in South Texas. Construction started in 2017, scheduled completion for 2020. It just opened 3 months ago. I have no idea how much the cost overruns were.
Classic illustration of the oxymoron “government work”.
“We still don’t know who was piloting the ship.”
no one was piloting the ship, it had no power.
Why it had no power is a whole nother question, and answers will never be made public
Got to pay for those no show union workers
Just in line with the BIG Dig that was supposed to cost $2.5 billion, ended up to be $14.8 billion. That was more than four decades ago, and the damn thing even collapsed. Now there’s the years-behind-schedule CA High Speed Rail project with the original price tag of $33 billion expected to be $135 billion to complete.
It’s the payoffs and the ripoffs.
There’s lots of shady characters, lots of dirty deals
There. Fixed it.
Initial estimates were accurate.
They just forgot to add in the unions and politician’s “upcharges”.
There are several layers of insurance on the ship and her cargo ... that will be tied up in litigation for years.
It’s the lure of easy money ... it has a very strong appeal.
Yah, I’d say so.
The Pelosi upcharges.
The refurbishment of Denver International airport is way over budget as the original contractor was fired halfway through. Who knows when it will be complete.
Democrat run state. Thanks Commies!😬
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
