DUNDALK, Maryland — Salvage crews began their trip Thursday to the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s wreck site as both incoming commercial ships and first responders have found a helping hand from the shaken but resolute nearby community.
The U.S. Coast Guard said crane-carrying barges set out for the Patapsco River with the goal of removing the metal and concrete from the channel after the cargo ship Dali lost power and struck one of the bridge’s support columns two days ago, sending the structure crashing almost instantly into the frigid nighttime waters.
The crash claimed the lives of at least two men and is feared to have killed four others. It also shut down Baltimore’s highly active port, putting thousands temporarily out of work and leaving the incoming shipments in limbo.
The first sparks of a partisan divide over the tragedy could also be seen Thursday as Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore told reporters the state would seek some $60 million in emergency federal funding to begin removing the debris. U.S. officials said later in the day that the money had been approved.
“Government is working hand in hand with industry to investigate the area, including the wreck, and remove the ship,” the governor said, speaking at an event that also marked Opening Day for the city’s Orioles baseball team. Fans in attendance at the stadium held a moment of silence in honor of the victims. They gave a raucous cheer for the local police officers credited with preventing even more deaths by stopping traffic to the bridge just seconds before the accident.
But President Biden’s pledge to have the federal government cover the “entire cost” of the recovery drew a sharp rebuke from at least one Republican lawmaker, who said the promise was premature at best.
“It was kind of outrageous for Biden to express in this tragedy the idea that he’s going to use federal funds to pay for the entirety,” Rep. Dan Meuser, Pennsylvania Republican, said in an interview with Fox Business News. “This is a crisis situation, but it needs a plan, not a knee-jerk spending reaction.”
The total tab is likely to run into the billions of dollars. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, the Maryland Democrat in whose district the bridge is located, criticized Mr. Meuser’s remarks and told Politico Thursday he was already in touch with House GOP Speaker Mike Johnson on a larger, bipartisan spending package to deal with the collapsed bridge.
Amid the tragedy and economic devastation, residents in neighboring Dundalk have shown a willingness to join in the recovery effort that is catching on even with newcomers to the area.
“It’s very obvious that the people who patronize here, they’ve lived here their entire lives and they believe in this place,” Alex DelSordo, the new owner of the Hard Yacht Cafe and Anchor Bay East Marina, told The Washington Times. “Regardless of what happens — up or down, highs and lows — this is their home.”
Calling Mr. DelSordo a “new owner” might be an understatement: He officially took over the business just 11 days ago and was looking forward to what he said would be his first full week of normal business operations.
That was until he received a call at about 3 a.m. Tuesday from Hard Yacht’s former owner, who told him to “get your a—down” to the restaurant.
The Key Bridge had toppled, and the local fire department was coming by to refuel. A few hours later, rescue divers showed up to recuperate at the eatery, and soon afterward, he was fielding calls from other agencies saying they needed a place to dock their boats.
It’s been a whirlwind for Mr. DelSordo and his staff since then. The new owner said Hard Yacht has kept its fueling station open around the clock and provides free meals for the first responders. They can also use other amenities if needed, from beds and showers to laundry services.
The Hard Yacht owner estimated that over 300 emergency workers have come to his business in the days following the bridge collapse.
A commitment to first responders is part of the restaurant’s heritage. Mr. DelSordo said the previous owners offered half-off meals for all police officers, firefighters and the like — and it’s a policy he plans to resume once the bridge situation finally calms down.
Mr. DelSordo said he can likely maintain the marina’s 24/7 schedule for two weeks before he has to readjust his approach. But for the time being, he shows evident pride, recounting how his staff has “done their jobs to perfection” during a time of disruption and loss.
Work at the yard
Just across Bear Creek at Tradepoint Atlantic, the industrial port and railyard is doing its part to ease the crisis in one of the city’s bedrock economic levers.
Tradepoint has the advantage of sitting beyond the Key Bridge wreckage, so container ships still have a place to unload their cargo and complete their voyages.
The multi-modal hub made good on that positioning Wednesday when it said it received a shipment from a vessel carrying Volkswagen cars. The Port of Baltimore is one of the most active ports for car shipments in the entire U.S.
Still, Scott Cowan, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 333, told the Associated Press Thursday that his union is scrambling to help its roughly 2,400 members whose jobs are in jeopardy until the harbor is cleared.
“If there’s no ships, there’s no work,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can.”
Chuck Jacobs, the manager at The Fountain, a hole-in-the-wall bar inside the Drug City pharmacy store, said his oldest son is working long hours at the facility to keep up with the spike in demand.
“He’s working nonstop,” Mr. Jacobs said in an interview. “My younger son works at the Port of Baltimore, and now work for him is minimal. They’re trying to find stuff for him to do.”
Tradepoint took over the space once occupied by Bethlehem Steel, the city’s main employer, during its boom years in the mid-20th century.
But as the factory shrank and eventually closed, the neighborhood’s blue-collar charm faded, and Dundalk residents became known for their lack of interest in education and ambition to improve their lives.
It’s an unfair label that’s hounded the city, according to local product Robert Kaetzel.
The real estate agent said he grew up in nearby Essex and is well aware of how outsiders look down on Dundalk. Part of the negative perception comes from Dundalk’s wastewater treatment plant, which emits some unfortunate aromas—a piece of town lore that Mr. Kaetzel said is more myth than fact.
“I lived across the water from that plant for five years, and it doesn’t smell, but good luck trying to shake that reputation,” he said.
Waiting for help
Over at the wreck site, officials haven’t said when the massive salvage ships would arrive to begin clearing the bridge remains.
The National Transportation Safety Board cited Wednesday the container ship’s logs that showed lost power just minutes before it went on a crash course with the structure around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Two people were saved by rescuers shortly after the bridge collapsed. They were part of the eight-man construction crew filling potholes on the bridge, which have become the focus of the recovery effort.
Authorities identified the two known victims Wednesday as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, who lived in Baltimore but was from Mexico, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, who lived in Dundalk and was from Guatemala. The pair were found inside a red pickup truck that was 25 feet below the surface.
Officials believe the four missing workers are encased in the bridge’s underwater wreckage.
The AP reported that the governors of New York and New Jersey offered to take on cargo shipments that had been destined for Baltimore in a bid to try to minimize supply chain disruptions. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was reportedly meeting with supply-chain executives as the bridge repairs proceed.
While vowing to rebuild, Gov. Moore warned again Thursday there were no short cuts on the road to recovery.
“This work is not going to take hours,” he said. “This work is not going to take days. This work is not going to take weeks. We have a very long road ahead of us.”
—This article was based in part on wire service reports.