Last Key Bridge Wreckage Pulled From Water, Full Channel Reopening Soon: Photos

BALTIMORE, MD — The last large piece of Francis Scott Key Bridge truss was pulled from the Baltimore waters, officials announced Wednesday.

"Salvage work and surveys are ongoing as crews continue to remove residual wreckage," the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District said Wednesday on Facebook.

Crews will now search for smaller debris before reopening the full channel between Saturday and Monday. That will be nearly 11 weeks after the container ship Dali lost power, toppled the Key Bridge, killed six road workers and cost over 1,100 port jobs.

The original channel was 700 feet wide and 50 feet deep. All ships have been able to return to the Port of Baltimore using a 400-foot-wide channel since May 20. That's when crews refloated and relocated the 984-foot Dali.

Read all of Patch's Key Bridge collapse coverage here.

Controlled explosives on May 13 freed the grounded Dali from the bridge wreckage.

The Baltimore Sun reported that crews for weeks have gradually removed the 10-million-pound "Section 4" of bridge truss. That's the same piece that laid atop the Dali for the 55 days it blocked much of the Patapsco River.

The Sun said the first 140-ton segment was lifted on May 24. The second 470-ton chunk was hoisted on Saturday. The final 400-ton portion was extracted on Monday and Tuesday, The Sun reported.

"Using concrete breakers, underwater surveys, and oxyacetylene torches, they separated tons of concrete roadway, cable, and steel rebar from 'Section 4C' while removing debris with clamshell dredges," a Unified Command press release said Wednesday.

Attention now turns toward rebuilding the bridge. Officials estimated that the new crossing will open by fall 2028 and cost up to $1.9 billion. President Joe Biden (D) promised that the federal government would pay for the entire project.

The Maryland Transportation Authority announced Friday that it's now accepting contractor proposals for the bridge rebuild. Proposals are due June 24. The project team will be selected by late summer.

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