Unified Command, the collection of federal and state agencies tasked with managing the Francis Scott Key Bridge wreckage in Baltimore, began removing debris and containers from the cargo ship that caused the bridge to collapse.
The various entities include the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland State Police, and the Synergy Marine Group, according to a news release from Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott.
A news release from Unified Command states that salvors began removing containers from the Dali on Sunday to gain access to portions of the bridge that collapsed on top of the ship.
Coast Guard Capt. David O’Connell, the federal on-scene coordinator for Unified Command, said in the news release that the group was working to open up parts of the channel for travel. He stressed that the team would continue “working to achieve these goals safely and efficiently.”
“The Unified Command is concurrently progressing on its main lines of effort to remove enough debris to open the channel to larger commercial traffic, refloat the Dali, and continue recovery efforts for missing loved ones,” he said.
USACE provided a tentative timeline of when the channel would be open to consistent travel, stating that the goal was to provide a 280-foot-wide and 35-foot-deep area that ships could use to travel by the end of April.
Normal capacity cannot be reestablished until a 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep permanent opening is made, which USACE hopes to accomplish by the end of May.
Although the channel is not currently open to consistent travel, alternate marine routes have been created, allowing 32 ships to pass so far since the bridge collapsed, according to Unified Command’s news release.
Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, USACE commanding general, reiterated that the timeline for the restoration work may change based on the impact of weather, but 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.”
“We are working quickly and safely to clear the channel and restore full service at this port that is so vital to the nation. 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,” he added in the statement.
This cleanup process follows the tragic incident in which the Dali crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge on March 26 and caused the entire bridge to collapse, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. A mayday call was issued by the Dali just before the crash and helped save lives by allowing authorities to divert traffic; however, eight construction workers were unable to get off the bridge before the crash.
Two of the eight workers survived the crash, with the remaining six workers either confirmed or presumed dead due to the gravity of the incident, as reported by DX.
President Joe Biden traveled to Baltimore on Friday to take an aerial tour of the wreckage and meet with the families of those who died.
