A view of the Dali cargo vessel which crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse in Baltimore, Maryland, US, March 27, 2024.WASHINGTON — With efforts underway to clean up thousands of tons of steel debris from the collapsed bridge in Baltimore's harbour, Maryland Governor Wes Moore on Sunday urged Republicans to work with Democrats to approve the federal funding needed for rebuilding the bridge and to get the port economy back on its feet.
Federal officials have told Maryland lawmakers the final cost of rebuilding the bridge could soar to at least US$2 billion, Roll Call reported, citing a source familiar with the discussions. "The reason that we need people to move in a bipartisan basis... is not because we need you to do Maryland a favour," Moore told CNN on Sunday. "We need to make sure that we're actually moving quickly to get the American economy going again, because the Port of Baltimore is instrumental in our larger economic growth."
Later Sunday officials said they were preparing to establish an alternate route for "commercially essential vessels," although few additional details were released and the timing of the alternate route's opening wasn't made clear.