(Reuters) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said on Thursday it hopes to open a new channel to the Port of Baltimore by the end of April, freeing commercial shipping blocked by a collapsed bridge, and then at full capacity. Access to the port can be restored. end of May.
On March 26, the fully loaded container ship Dali lost power and collided with a support column of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, killing six road workers and causing the highway bridge to collapse into the Patapsco River. The main channel is blocked by debris.
The Army Corps, part of a multiagency team responding to the Baltimore disaster, announced the plans a day before President Joe Biden’s visit, saying the channel would be suitable for some roll-on/roll-off vessels within four weeks. Transportation automobiles and agricultural equipment.
According to the State of Maryland, the Port of Baltimore ranks first in the United States for the volume of autos and light trucks and agricultural and construction machinery handled. Most traffic has been suspended since the accident, although some terminals outside the affected area have resumed operations.
Earlier this week, two access channels suitable for emergency ships, tugs and barges were opened on either side of the disabled ship, which remains stuck beneath the wreckage of the bridge along with thousands of containers and its crew of 21 sailors.
But with depths limited to 11 feet and 14 feet, those two channels are too shallow for large cargo ships, which require a depth of 35 feet.
