VIDEO: Last large Key Bridge section moved from Federal Channel

Photo: USACE

Ten weeks after the containership Dali struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge initiating its collapse, salvage crews successfully removed the final large steel truss segment of the bridge blocking the 700-foot-wide Fort McHenry Federal Channel on June 3-4.

Using concrete breakers, underwater surveys, and oxyacetylene torches, they separated tons of concrete roadway, cable, and steel rebar from “Section 4C” while removing debris with clamshell dredges.

On May 20, Unified Command had cleared the Federal Channel to a width of 400 feet and a depth of 50 feet, allowing deep-draft commercial vessels to access the Port of Baltimore. Full restoration is now projected by June 8-10.

That should mean that all is looking good for Maryland Fleet Week & Flyover Baltimore, which is set to take place June 12-18, 2024, at the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, North Locust Point, and Martin State Airport.

Ships begin arriving in Baltimore on Wednesday, June 12 and, according to the organizers, include United States Navy and Coast Guard vessels, Army Corps of Engineers vessels, many traditional sailing craft and working vessels.

A flotilla of working vessels has, of course, been working for weeks on the Unified Command’s efforts to first open temporary channels, move the Dali, then clear the Federal Channel.