The video footage of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was shocking. At around 1.30am on March 26th, when a container ship rammed into it, the central section of the 1.6-mile (2.6km) structure collapsed into the Patapsco river below, sending people and vehicles into the water. Workers repairing potholes were on the bridge at the time. Underwater drones, sonar and infrared tools show several vehicles submerged in the river.

President Joe Biden has pledged to pay to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge and restart the Port of Baltimore, but the catastrophic collapse of the bridge early Tuesday morning after being hit by a cargo ship may still require state funding and complicate decisions about how Maryland will fill shortfalls in its long-term transportation plans. (Photo Credit: AP Photo/Steve Helber)

As drivers search for new routes, the disaster is sure to increase congestion around Baltimore’s two harbor tunnels and westbound Interstate 695, transportation experts say. The bridge carried more than 12.4 million commercial and passenger vehicles in 2023 — nearly 34,000 trips a day — according to a Maryland Transportation Authority report issued last fall.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, a massive container ship struck the Key Bridge, causing the structure to collapse in moments. But could it have been prevented? Engineering experts told The Baltimore Banner that this will be the main question for investigators in the wake of the tragedy and raised similar concerns about what little we know about the 47-year-old bridge and its subsequent collapse so far.

Frederick County could feel the effects of supply chain delays due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday morning. Rick Weldon, the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce’s president and CEO, said everyone will be affected — from those with Amazon orders to manufacturing and construction companies waiting for materials to complete projects.

As multiple parallel projects seek to reimagine Druid Hill Park for a better future, Baltimore’s Department of Transportation plans to make it friendlier to pedestrians, cyclists and public transit by eliminating the highway-like characteristics of some of the roadways that encircle it.

The Washington County Division of Emergency Services Public Safety Training Center project has been selected for Fiscal Year 2024 Congressionally Directed Spending funding by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The project funding, requested by Senators Cardin and Van Hollen and Congressman Trone, was included in the first FY24 spending package, recently passed by Congress and signed into law by the president, securing an allocation of $1,000,000.

Carnival Cruise ships will be rerouted to Norfolk, Virginia, after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge closed the Port of Baltimore for the foreseeable future. Cruise passengers in the middle of a seven-day trip to the Bahamas on the Carnival Legend that was scheduled to return to Baltimore Sunday will instead disembark in the southeastern Virginia city, according to Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) says he plans to use an additional $33 million in reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fund resident services and programs, including food distribution and small business support funding. The county had already received $117 million in reimbursements for COVID-19 pandemic related expenditures, and has applied for a total of $280 million.

A new sports and entertainment company has secured the rights to bring a minor league basketball team to Baltimore City. Maelstrom Sports and Entertainment, founded by University of Maryland, Baltimore County graduate Jacob Dennis and former Division I basketball player Charles Carrington, is currently on the hunt for investors to fund a new semi-professional basketball team called Baltimore Venom.