April 5 (UPI) — President Joe Biden on Friday will be in Baltimore to visit the site of the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse and outline the federal government’s response to the cleanup effort, the White House said.
The president will meet with the families and other loved ones of the six workers killed when the bridge mostly collapsed into the Patapsco River after the 984 foot, Singapore-based ship Dali hit the bridge at around 1:30 a.m. local time on March 26 after the vessel experienced mechanical failures.
“The president is continuing to lead a whole-of-government approach in responding to the bridge collapse, as the president said within hours of the collapse, this administration will be with the people of Baltimore, every step of the way,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday.
Biden will be joined by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a fellow Democrat, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as well as members of the state’s congressional delegation including Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., and Baltimore’s Mayor Brandon Scott.
He is also expected to get an update from the Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers. Biden will also take an aerial tour of the area surrounding the wreckage in the Port of Baltimore to view the massive response effort.
While in Baltimore, Biden is expected to give an update on the federal government’s current response efforts as well as highlight the quick release of $60 in emergency federal funds as a “down payment” for the next steps in the recovery effort.
A small, temporary channel has been made to allow work near the wreckage to continue with hopes of resuming limited river traffic for priority vessels via a temporary channel in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers unveiled a tentative timeline to reopen Fort McHenry Channel “after detailed studies and engineering assessments by local, state and federal organizations, in collaboration with industry partners.”
The USACE said they expect to open “a limited access channel 280 feet wide and 35 feet deep, to the Port of Baltimore within the next four weeks by the end of April.” They added it will support one-way traffic in and out of the port for barge containers and for other select vessels.
“USACE engineers are aiming to reopen the permanent, 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep federal navigation channel by the end of May, restoring port access to normal capacity,” according to the Army Corps.
On Friday, the White House budget director urged congressional leaders to approve 100% of the cost to rebuild the collapsed bridge, saying how the Biden administration stands ready to work with all stakeholders to ensure the “State of Maryland has what it needs to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which is critical to the Nation’s workers and economy.”
“This authorization would be consistent with past catastrophic bridge collapses, including in 2007, when the Congress acted in a bipartisan manner within days of the I-35W bridge collapse in Minnesota,” budget director Shalanda Young, wrote.
The Biden administration has taken several immediate steps to address the Francis Scott Key bridge wreckage in the aftermath of the Dali crash 10 days ago.
On Monday, Jean-Pierre said the Department of Labor was working with local and state officials “to determine how to assist workers out of work due to closure of the port.”
“Today, the [Small Business Administration] is launching two business recovery centers in Baltimore County. These centers will support impacted business owners’ income…in completing their disaster loan applications,” she said at Monday’s White House press briefing.
Maryland’s Port of Baltimore — the United States’ 17th largest — generates approximately 15,300 direct jobs with nearly 140,000 jobs linked to port activities which saw $80 billion worth of business in 2023, according to the governor’s office.
