Congress grapples over the high price tag to build a new bridge and how much of it the federal government should cover.

Nearly four months have passed since the Dali cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused its collapse. Since then, debris has been cleared and the shipping channel is back open for full port operations.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) had released preliminary report with its findings soon after the incident and has recently published an update.  While the full report on the crash and bridge collapse is still pending, these preliminary findings offer insight into what went wrong.

As part of the fact-finding effort and the future transportation needs of the area, Congress has held hearings from various stakeholders. The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works also held a hearing examining the accident and federal response.

Funding for the bridge remains complicated. The Emergency Relief program at the Federal Highway Administration has a federal cost share of between 80-90% for repair or reconstruction of roads and bridges depending on the type of roadway. Some democrats are insisting on a 100% federal cost share for the replacement of the bridge. However, as Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and others have pointed out, the bridge was a tolled facility, and Maryland DOT plans to toll the new bridge providing for an easy source of the non-federal share. Maryland DOT has gone ahead with a request for proposals in replacing the collapsed bridge and expects to make a selection by late summer 2024. As always, we will keep you informed on the latest.

For more information, please contact Deniz Mustafa.