When will Baltimore's new Key Bridge reopen and how much will it cost? Maryland updates progress.
Maryland transportation officials said the replacement Key Bridge remains on track to open by 2030 and that cost estimates have not increased in recent months.
State officials gave CBS News Baltimore a tour of the progress Wednesday as they prepare to award four separate contracts for the massive project.
Where things stand
The Dali cargo ship brought down the Key Bridge within seconds in 2024, but it will likely be four more years before a new bridge rises across the Patapsco River in its place.
On Wednesday morning, WJZ cameras captured a massive crane lifting a support pylon for the rebuilt bridge into place.
The work is still being done by Kiewit, the contractor that designed the span.
Kiewit will soon leave the project after disagreements over the cost and timeline.
"It sets the table for when we bring our new contractors on board and allows them to get right onto the most critical work immediately," Jim Harkness, chief engineer for the Maryland Transportation Authority, told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren.
By next year, the four new contracts will be awarded as Kiewit winds down its work at the site.
WJZ Investigates asked Brian Wolfe, the director of project development overseeing construction, whether having multiple contractors would be problematic on such a complex project.
"It's not an unusual thing for us. There's always that risk, but we're addressing that in contracts to make sure that everyone's aware that there is going to be a contractor here at the south end, the marine contractor, the north contractor—make sure they all understand they need to be talking," Wolfe said.
Harkness said having several contractors handle the project comes with significant benefits.
"To be able to encourage competition and that competition hopefully drives both a lower cost and an earlier delivery schedule," he said.
Cost and timeline
The cost estimate remains within the range of $4.2 billion to $5.3 billion, and the state hopes to complete the bridge by the end of 2030.
The initial timeline called for the bridge to be rebuilt by 2028 at a cost of less than $2 billion.
Regarding the 2030 deadline, Harkness said, "Ultimately, we have to wait for our proposals to come in. We still have a goal of the end of 2030. Ultimately, we need those proposals to tell us what they can build it in."
What the site looks like now
From a boat on the Patapsco River, the massive pylons, built with American-made steel, are visible.
They will support the new cable-stayed bridge and provide robust protections designed to prevent another vessel from striking it.
There are 90 support pylons in all, and only 10 have yet to be installed.
Parts of the old Key Bridge are still visible.
Pylons for the trestle, the temporary path that will support construction, have also been secured in the Patapsco River.
"The work that is being carried out now is critical. It's on the critical path to delivering this bridge and being able to open it to traffic," Harkness told WJZ.
Where the contracts stand
Harkness said the contract for the main span of the new bridge should be awarded by spring next year.
Bids for additional demolition work were put out this week.
The other two contracts involve the ramps leading to the bridge, one for each side.