Port of Baltimore shipping channel fully reopens more than 2 months after bridge collapse

By Lauren Mascarenhas, Christina Maxouris, Joe Sutton and Chris Boyette, CNN

(CNN) — The Port of Baltimore’s shipping channel is fully operational again, response officials announced Monday, more than two months after a massive cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, killing six construction workers and cutting off access to the crucial shipping artery.

“We’ve cleared the Fort McHenry Federal Channel for safe transit,” Baltimore District Commander Col. Estee Pinchasin said in a statement Monday. “Although the overarching goal to restore full operational capacity to the Federal Channel was successful, each day we thought of those who lost their lives, their families and the workers impacted by this tragic event.”

“Not a day went by that we didn’t think about all of them, and that kept us going,” Pinchasin added.

Fully reopening the 700-foot wide channel meant crews had to remove roughly 50,000 tons of wreckage from the Patapsco River, according to a Monday news release from Unified Command, a group of agencies that led the response to the collapse.

That response included more than 2,000 people and subject matter experts, nearly two dozen tugboats, 13 floating cranes and 10 excavators, among other equipment.

The channel, which provides access to an essential international cargo destination, closed to vessel traffic on March 26, after a 213-million pound cargo ship lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns, causing the structure to collapse.

The collapse, which was captured in stunning video, sparked a multi-agency investigation into what caused the disaster.

Recovery crews worked for weeks to remove debris and recover the victims, who were from Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico and Guatemala – though many had called Maryland home for years. They were fathers, loving partners, sons and visionaries who left behind grieving communities and unfulfilled dreams.

The ship, a container vessel called Dali, remained lodged in the channel until it was hauled away on May 20, after crews were able to remove a piece of the bridge that had been pinning down its bow. The ship’s removal allowed for the opening of a temporary 400-foot channel, and cruise ships were able to once again depart from the port at the end of May.

Last week, crews cleared the final large steel truss that had been blocking the full channel and had been working to ensure no hazards remain, according to the Unified Command.

The closing of the channel was a blow to the port’s economy, which officials say supported tens of thousands of jobs.

While the full cost of rebuilding the bridge is not clear, President Joe Biden has pledged federal support to make it happen. The Insurance Information Institute has estimated the bridge alone could be worth more than $1.2 billion.

CNN’s Elizabeth Wolfe, Sarah Dewberry and Holly Yan contributed to this report.

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