Maryland has decided to ax and rebid its construction contract for the rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key Bridge due to cost disagreements, federal and state transportation authorities announced on Tuesday.
In August 2024, the state contracted Kiewit Infrastructure Co. to complete two phases of reconstruction after the Key Bridge’s March 2024 collapse, which was caused by the Dali container ship ramming into the bridge and killing six people. With the first design phase of the project nearing its end, Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) said in a statement that he directed the state transportation authority to procure a new contractor for phase two.
Recommended Stories
“After weeks of engagement, it became evident that the contractor’s proposed price and timeline for moving forward was unreasonably high and therefore unacceptable,” Moore said. “This was informed by the state’s independent cost estimates. I concluded that accepting this proposal was not in the best interest of the people of Maryland and the American people.”
The project’s projected costs are high. What started as an estimated $1.8 billion project has escalated to a more-than $5 billion project. Maryland Transportation Secretary Katie Thomson did not specify what Kiewit’s estimate was, but told the Washington Post it greatly exceeded the Maryland Transportation Authority’s estimates.
Federal Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has served in an oversight role for the project to try to keep costs down. He celebrated the decision to switch contractors on Tuesday.
“The Trump Administration is always working to secure the best possible team for hardworking American taxpayers,” Duffy said. “It’s my job to ensure the American people’s tax dollars are used efficiently and that major projects are completed on time and on budget. We’re putting taxpayers and their priorities first.”
The governor also praised how “speed and efficiency” the first phase of the project, which is about 70% complete, has gone. Moore has emphasized since the start of the project that he hopes to move quickly on the reconstruction to reopen the bridge for Baltimoreans. Maryland Transportation Authority said the first phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
MARYLAND REPUBLICAN CHALLENGES WES MOORE OVER MILITARY RECORD TRANSPARENCY
“We moved with speed and efficiency, clearing the channel to the Port of Baltimore in 11 weeks when some experts said it would take 11 months,” Moore said in his statement. “Where projects of similar scale and complexity have taken years, we completed 70% design for the project in a matter of months.”
For the rest of the first phase, Kiewit will drive foundation piles and build a temporary trestle, according to Maryland Transportation Authority Executive Director Bruce Gartner. The agency will hold a forum in May about the procurement process for the contractor for the next phase of the project.
