BALTIMORE — President Joe Biden said Tuesday he plans to travel to Baltimore “as quickly as I can” and that he plans for the federal government to pick up the entire cost of reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed earlier in the day after a container ship lost power and struck it.
“We’re going to rebuild that port together,” Biden said in brief remarks from the White House, shortly before departing for North Carolina.
The president said he expects lawmakers on Capitol Hill to support his bid to ensure the U.S. government pays for rebuilding the bridge.
“This is going to take some time,” Biden said. “The people of Baltimore can count on us, though, to stick with them at every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt.”
Biden repeated earlier statements from officials that all current indications were that the collapse was an accident.
“At this time, we have no other indication, no other reason to believe there’s any intentional act here,” he said.
Biden’s expected challenger in the presidential race this year, Republican Donald Trump, as of midday Tuesday has not commented publicly on the bridge collapse.
Currently:
— Baltimore bridge collapses after powerless cargo ship rams it. 6 people are missing
— What we know about the Baltimore bridge collapse
— A list of major US bridge collapses caused by ships and barges
— Who was Francis Scott Key, whose namesake bridge fell?
— Live Updates at APNews.com
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com
More of the latest:
EXPERT NOTES APPARENT LACK OF PIER PROTECTION
The bridge did not appear to have pier protection to withstand the cargo ship crash, according to a professor of civil and environmental engineering.
Professor Roberto Leon, of Virginia Tech, said he reviewed the video of the crash Tuesday.
“If a bridge pier without adequate protection is hit by a ship of this size, there is very little that the bridge could do,” Leon said.
Maryland recently retrofitted another bridge with pier protection devices for about $100 million, he said.
It’s expensive, but the price would pale in comparison with expected losses from the damaged bridge, including additional miles driven, fuel and business costs, he said.
FEDS HAD RATED BRIDGE AS IN FAIR CONDITION
The most recent federal data shows the bridge was rated as being in fair condition overall before the crash.
The Federal Highway Administration rates bridges on the condition of their individual components.
In a national bridge inventory released in June, inspectors rated the Key Bridge’s deck, substructure and superstructure — or the component that absorbs the live traffic load — as satisfactory.
The bridge carried an estimated 30,800 vehicles a day on average in 2019.
According to the Maryland Transportation Authority, that translates to about 11.3 million vehicles a year across the bridge, which was built in the 1970s and was 1.6 miles (2.6 kilometers) long.
SHIP OWNER, OPERATOR HAVE LAWSUITS IN THEIR PAST
Synergy Marine, which operated the ship that hit the bridge, and the ship’s owner, Grace Ocean Private Ltd, have been sued at least four times in U.S. federal court on allegations of negligence and other claims tied to worker injuries on other ships owned and operated by the Singapore-based companies.
One lawsuit, in 2019, involved a man from Oregon who broke several bones when a rope ladder he was using to board a refrigerated cargo vessel snapped, sending him 25 feet to the ground.
Also that year, a Texas worker was injured when a hatch on the same ship, the M/V Star Leader, was prematurely opened without warning by a ship’s crew member.
In 2021, a longshoreman in Savannah, Georgia, sued Synergy when he tumbled 5 feet on a gangway whose handrail collapsed, injuring his back and shoulder.All three lawsuits were settled out of court.
A fourth case, involving a worker at the port of Houston who was pinned underneath a stack of metal pipes he was trying to remove, was dismissed.
6 CONSTRUCTION WORKERS MISSING
Six people remain unaccounted for after the bridge collapse, and all are believed to have been working on it at the time, officials said.
The construction workers were repairing potholes, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said at a news conference Tuesday.
Gov. Wes Moore said he was thankful that after the cargo ship’s distress call, authorities were able to stop cars from going over the bridge.“These people are heroes,” Moore said. “They saved lives last night.”
GOVERNOR SAYS SHIP REPORTED LOSING POWER
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says the cargo ship reported losing power just before it crashed and caused the bridge to collapse. Moore said Tuesday that a mayday call from the ship allowed officials to limit traffic on the bridge before the crash.
A preliminary investigation suggests that the crash was an accident, and that there’s no credible evidence of a terrorist attack, Moore, a Democrat, said at a news conference near the collapsed bridge.
“This morning, our state is in shock,” he said.“We are Maryland tough and we are Baltimore strong,” Moore said. “So in the face of heartbreak, we come together.”
MAYOR DECLARES A STATE OF EMERGENCY
The mayor of Baltimore has declared a state of emergency in response to the bridge collapse. Mayor Brandon Scott, a Democrat, issued an executive order Tuesday morning to deploy and expand emergency resources.
The state of emergency will remain in place for 30 days and is subject to renewal or cancellation as conditions warrant.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it is launching a team to investigate the bridge collapse and will hold a media briefing later Tuesday.
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