PATAPSCO RIVER, Md. — A scenic day aboard the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers‘ debris removal ship Reynolds provided a glimpse Tuesday of the decimated Francis Scott Key Bridge and the effort to clear a major channel for waiting ships.
The span’s metal towered over the salvage ship as it darted around the wreck site and got close to the Dali, the cargo ship that officials said lost power and brought down the 47-year-old bridge.
The Chesapeake 1000 — the Eastern Seaboard’s largest barge-bound crane — removed overnight a hunk of the bridge that was lodged near where the container ship bashed into a support pillar.
Excavating the steel structure’s remnants is crucial to reopening the deepest part of the channel.
Salvage teams have opened three smaller, alternate channels since the March 26 crash, but commercial activity at the Port of Baltimore relies on massive cargo ships getting in and out of the harbor.
Officials plan to open a 35-foot channel Thursday to reinvigorate business at the port.
A Corps member aboard the Reynolds pointed out a U.S. Coast Guard cutter dropping buoys just east of the Dali to mark the newest channel. The width of the channel plans to be up to 300 feet wide.
