Baltimore Shipping Channel Fully Reopens

Facts

• Officials announced Monday that the Fort McHenry Federal Channel, the main shipping channel into the Port of Baltimore, has fully reopened for the first time since the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that blocked most maritime traffic into the harbor.¹
• This comes after weeks of cleanup, including the removal of approximately 50K tons of steel and concrete from Patapsco River following the bridge collapse that killed six.¹
• The commanding general of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) said the restoration of the channel to its original dimensions of 700 feet wide and 50 feet deep resulted from partnerships that 'endured through this response' to make this mission 'successful.'²
• The channel, a major access point for international cargo, had been closed since a 213M-pound container vessel, the Dali, brought the bridge down after losing power and crashing into one of the bridge's support columns.³
• Previously, crews freed the Dali from the crash site and refloated it back to port on May 20, allowing the channel to open to 400 feet wide until the complete reopening could occur.⁴

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²USA Today, ³CNN and ⁴Independent.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by New York Times. The reopening of this channel is proof that government agencies can work together to complete even the biggest undertakings. In all, the couple of months it took to get the channel fully reopened was faster than expected. The same type of teamwork should lead to a speedy reconstruction of the bridge.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Daily Mail. Before taking a victory lap, government officials should have to answer for the Key Bridge being considered 'fracture critical' in the first place. And while rebuilding the bridge is a worthy endeavor, the government has to figure out what to do to protect the eight other major bridges nationwide that have been deemed vulnerable to a similar incident.