'Ambitious' plan to reopen channel under collapsed Baltimore bridge by May's end announced

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced an "ambitious" timeline to partially reopen the Fort McHenry Channel in Baltimore by the end of April and fully reopen it by the end of May, around two months after the Francis Scott Key Bridge plunged into the Patapsco River after it was struck by a cargo ship.

The announcement came the day before President Biden is expected to travel to the site of the bridge's collapse, as he urged Congress to approve federal funding for its reconstruction.

Engineers expect to open a "limited access" channel that would allow for one-way traffic into the Port of Baltimore, within four weeks, the Corps announced in a news release on Thursday.

The smaller channel would stretch 280 feet wide and 35 feet deep, less than half the width of the full channel. It would be accessible for barge container service and some roll on/roll off vessels carrying cars or farm equipment, according to USACE.

The permanent, 700-foot-wide and 50-foot-deep channel will reopen with normal capacity by the end of May, according to the "tentative" timeline.

Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, commanding general for the USACE, said authorities carried out "underwater surveys and detailed structural analysis" of the bridge's wreckage in the two weeks since the collapse. "A fully opened federal channel remains our primary goal, and we will carry out this work with care and precision, with safety as our chief priority," he said.

Spellmon said the timeline could change due to weather conditions and the state of the wreckage. “These are ambitious timelines that may still be impacted by significant adverse weather conditions or changes in the complexity of the wreckage,” he said.

“We are working quickly and safely to clear the channel and restore full service at this port that is so vital to the nation," he added. "At the same time, we continue to keep faith with the families of the missing and are working with our partners to help locate and recover their loved ones.”

Six construction workers died during the collapse after they plunged into the cold waters below the bridge. Rescuers pulled out two additional workers, but the six were declared dead after an hours-long search.

Divers discovered the bodies of Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk, and Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, trapped in a red pickup truck submerged 25 feet deep in the river. The victims also included Miguel Luna, a father of three, Maynor Yasir Suazo Sandoval, 38, a father of two from Owing Mills, Maryland, Jose Lopez, a father of two, and Carlos Hernández. The victims originally hailed from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the new timeline would provide "clarity and certainty" for the city's ongoing recovery efforts. "We and our partners across all levels of government have been pushing for a timeline, and now we have a target," he said in a press release.. "We must do everything we can to meet that target."

A timeline for the reconstruction of the bridge itself remains uncertain.

Listen:Complications remain for ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse | The Excerpt

More than 1,000 engineers initially deployed to remove wreckage

The Key Bridge collapsed on March 26 after a Singapore-flagged cargo ship called the Dali struck it in the early morning hours, sending it tumbling into the water within less than a minute. Officials were able to halt traffic across the bridge after the ship's crew sent out an emergency alert in response to a power issue.

In the wake of the crash, around 1,100 USACE personnel rushed to the scene to begin the heavy undertaking of removing the wreckage of the bridge. Authorities brought highly specialized equipment, including the Chesapeake 1000, the largest floating crane on the Eastern Seaboard.

Spellmon said last week that engineers would assess the debris before cutting it into pieces. Engineers warned that the rubble was sharp and "lethal," with some of it lying up to 50 feet below the water's surface.

On Sunday, Unified Command continued to cut up one side of the bridge's collapsed truss using two cranes weighing a respective 650 and 330 tons. Three dive teams also surveyed submerged sections of the wreckage.

The rubble, once removed, was transferred to a barge, according to the USACE. Unified Command also worked with Baltimore Gas and Electric to relieve pressure in an underwater natural gas pipeline that runs under the collapse site.

Biden to visit collapse site

President Biden plans to travel to the site of the bridge's collapse on Friday, according to the White House. In a letter released the same day, Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, asked Congress to authorize the federal government to pay for the total cost of the bridge's repair.

"The President has also been clear since day one about his commitment-that the Federal Government should cover any needed costs for reconstructing the bridge," she wrote. "While we continue to assess those costs alongside our federal and state partners, we are asking the Congress to join us in demonstrating our commitment to aid in recovery efforts by authorizing a 100 percent federal cost share for rebuilding the bridge."

The bridge cost $60.3 million to construct in 1977, the equivalent of around $316 million today. Officials say it could be rebuilt in less than five years, the time it took to build it initially, depending on funding, design plans, and the state of the wreckage under the water.

Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her on email at cmayesosterman@usatoday.com. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.