Maryland approves $50 million contract to remove debris from Key Bridge

Gov. Wes Moore approved a contract with a construction company to remove debris from the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the ship Dalí sailed. The contract was awarded for $50.3 million because state officials deemed the company qualified and equipped to do the job.

The work to remove debris from the federal channel on the Patapsco River was done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after the Key Bridge collapsed, but Maryland entered into the emergency contract with Skanska USA Civil Southeast Inc. in April to remove debris from other channels that could then be used by salvage and commercial vessels after the collapse, ABC News reported.

Some do not agree

Skanska was chosen because the company was deemed qualified and equipped to handle similar operations that were needed quickly. However, Marshall Brown, spokesman for the Mid-Atlantic Worker Education and Cooperation Fund, said the no-bid emergency contract went against a state contracting process that is designed to be fair, competitive and transparent.

“This no-bid contract does not meet the standards. For these reasons, we strongly oppose the approval of this contract,” the same news outlet reported.

But Bruce Gartner, executive director of the Maryland Transportation Authority, argued that state engineers used their best professional judgment in an emergency and chose a company that was already working in the state.

“This was someone who was available nearby and we knew they could follow state procurement law and respond to the current situation,” he said.

“We need to rebuild it,” Moore

At the board meeting, Governor Moore noted that much work remains to be done to rebuild the bridge, which is crucial to Maryland and the nation’s economy.

“We need to rebuild it,” Moore said at the meeting. “The Port of Baltimore is an essential artery for economic flow and economic activity across the country, and, to put it simply, our approach to doing so is not a matter of nostalgia, but of necessity.”

The governor thanked President Joe Biden’s administration for including 100% federal cost-sharing for the bridge’s reconstruction, adding that he has been working to build a bipartisan coalition for the rebuild.

The freighter Dalí left Baltimore

Late last month, the cargo ship Dalí left Baltimore for Virginia, where crews will remove the remaining containers to continue repairs. The Coast Guard said the ship sailed under its own power with a full crew of 22 and six salvage experts.

The accident occurred shortly after leaving Baltimore Harbor early on March 26, when the ship lost power and propulsion and crashed into one of the bridge’s support columns. Construction workers were on the bridge making repairs.

Six men of Hispanic origin lost their lives during the collapse, each of their bodies recovered by search teams. The six deceased were originally from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Keep reading:

• The cargo ship Dalí had two blackouts before crashing into the Baltimore Key Bridge
• Video of the moment when the collapsed Baltimore bridge was demolished with explosives after a collision with a boat
• Authorities find and identify sixth victim after Baltimore bridge collapse