Now that it has been over a month since the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland officials are beginning to consider proposals to reconstruct the bridge. The total reconstruction of the collapsed bridge, which could potentially take years to complete, is giving the city of Baltimore a unique opportunity to upgrade one of its most vital pieces of infrastructure that was already nearly a half-decade old when it collapsed.
New design proposal for the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore
The new design and construction plan were submitted by the Italian engineering firm by the name of WeBuild Group, which famously led the rebuild of the collapsed Ponte Morandi bridge in Genoa, Italy back in 2018.
The bridge would be a “cable-stayed” bridge design, which not only offers a more unique and modern visual design but also the opportunity to place support beams for the bridge in much shallower water, allowing for a wider berth for passing ships.
Additionally, the proposed plan highlights a wider ‘carriageway’, which means that the proposed design would feature an additional lane in each direction and even have enough room to widen emergency lanes. The thought behind this feature (as well as several other features included in the preliminary design and plan) is that it would create a safer, more manageable, and more predictable flow of traffic from one side of the city to another.
When is the new Francis Scott Key Bridge being built?
Firstly, it’s important to note that this design and plan are simply preliminary, at this time Maryland officials and the U.S. Department of Transportation are simply considering all potential reconstruction plans that engineering firms around the world are prepared to offer.
Second, the collapsed bridge and wrecking ship are still in the middle of the shipping channel, Port officials have stated that they expect all the debris and the ship to be removed by the end of May.
Lastly, the reconstruction of the bridge is expected to take approximately four years to complete, assuming there are no delays and that construction begins before the second half of 2024.
