Around Maryland

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.

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.

Last fall, Hagerstown officials asked the Washington County Community Lobbying Coalition for help in securing state money for a needed study of water system needs. The coalition is a group spearheaded by the Greater Hagerstown Committee and the Washington County Chamber of Commerce to support local interests with the state government. And the water study was an issue with broader implications than just for the city, as more than half of Hagerstown’s water customers are outside the city limits.

Harmer’s Town Art Center, Inc., is one step closer to its goal of becoming a first-of-its-kind regional art facility and art incubator in Havre de Grace after receiving $3.35 million in federal funding to begin rehabbing a vacated Market Street space. The nonprofit arts center aims to renovate a 34,000-square-foot space at 119 and 123 Market St., which will become its new home.