Federal and Maryland officials said Tuesday they will hire a different contractor to lead the rebuild of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge due to rising costs and delays in erecting the new span.
The Maryland Transportation Authority said Kiewit Infrastructure Co. will no longer be retained for Phase 2 of the project that started nearly two years ago after a cargo ship crashed into and brought down the bridge in March 2024, killing six workers.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said reopening the bidding is essential, given the expanding timeline and growing price tag for a project that was supposed to be completed in two years but is on track to be finished in 2030.
“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,” Mr. Duffy said.
The federal government will reimburse Maryland for rebuilding the bridge that straddles the Patapsco River.
The Maryland Transportation Authority said Nebraska-based Kiewit’s proposal for the project’s second phase was “unacceptable” because it far exceeded the state’s internal cost estimates.
Officials said a new Key Bridge would cost between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion.
“At Governor [Wes] Moore’s direction, MDTA will aggressively protect and advance the interests of Maryland and all taxpayers,” Maryland Transportation Secretary Katie Thomson said in a statement.
“The MDTA will continue to work in lockstep with the Federal Highway Administration to ensure the Key Bridge is rebuilt as quickly and as cost effectively as possible while keeping safety the priority. That is what Marylanders demand, and that is what Marylanders deserve. We will settle for nothing less,” Ms. Thomson said.
Kiewit will complete the first phase of the rebuild at a cost of $700 million. Phase 1 work is expected to continue through the end of this year.
MDTA will host a forum next month to discuss next steps in its procurement process.
The bridge collapsed after the Singapore-registered freighter Dali lost power and drifted into one of the span’s pillars.
Six members of a road crew who were filling potholes on the bridge died when the structure went down. Two members of the crew were rescued from the wreckage.
Bridge debris clogged the main shipping channel into the Port of Baltimore, shutting down one of the city’s key industries for nearly three months until the scrap could be cleared.
