The projected four-year effort to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore officially got underway earlier this month with the start of pre-construction work and selection of a general engineering consultant for the estimated $2-billion project.
Under its $73-million Phase 1 progressive design-build contract with the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), awarded last August, Kiewit Infrastructure Co. has begun performing topographic and underwater surveys and collecting soil samples from land and the Patapsco River. MDTA Chief Engineer Jim Harkness said in an agency video that for the waterborne work, Kiewit will use boring rigs installed on small barges to collect soil samples from depths up to 200 ft.
“There may be a crane involved as well,” Harkness said, adding that conventional and drone-based aerial surveys are being used for the rebuild’s landside areas.
A U.S. Coast Guard Notice to Mariners, issued Jan. 7, 2025, stated that geotechnical exploration, foundation test pile operation, and bridge demolition activities for the rebuild were beginning in the area as well, though Harkness did not specify any other pre-construction work beginning before spring. The Coast Guard notice noted that bridge construction activity is scheduled to continue through October 2028—the same date that MDTA and Kiewit have targeted to have the replacement bridge open.
Plans call for the new four-lane crossing to be built on the same alignment as the original 1.7-mile through-truss bridge, which collapsed after being struck by an apparently disabled container vessel in the early morning hours of March 26, 2024. Six construction workers were killed in the incident.
Although the rebuild design is still in development, MDTA says the longer, 2.4-mile structure will accommodate larger container vessels accessing the Port of Baltimore, with a height of 230 ft above the river—45 ft higher than the original structure. The width between the main span pylons will be increased from 1,200 ft to 1,400 ft.
The replacement bridge has already received a categorical exemption from the Federal Highway Administration, allowing the rebuild to take place in the right-of-way of the original Key Bridge without a full environmental review. Full federal funding for the rebuild was included in the stopgap spending bill passed by Congress on December 20, 2024, and signed by President Joe Biden the following day.
MDTA has not announced a timeline for completion of the initial progressive design-build work, or negotiation with Kiewit for phase 2, which includes design and construction.
Maryland’s Board of Public Works has also approved MDTA’s award of a $75-million general engineering consulting contract for the rebuild to Bridging Maryland Partnership, a joint venture of WSP USA, Rummel, Klepper & Kahl (RK&K); and Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson (JMT).
According to MDTA, the five-year task-order-based contract calls for the joint venture to serve as the agency’s engineering representative, and provide a wide range of support services, including auditing Kiewit’s processes, reviewing submittals and confirm that design and construction meets the agency’s standards and specifications. The five-year contract has a DBE participation target of 31.5%.
