New design renderings for Baltimore's Key Bridge rebuild

New design renderings for the reconstruction of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge were released on Thursday, giving the public a first look at what the new bridge is expected to look like once it’s completed in 2028. According to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), the redesigned bridge is being built to have life span of approximately 100 years. The plans include two 12-foot lanes in each direction, stretching more than two miles across the Patapsco River. Furthermore, the bridge will feature a minimum clearance of 230 feet above the federal shipping channel, and its two main towers will rise over 600 feet into the air.

Maryland officials announced in late 2024 that the federal government would cover the full cost of the $2 billion reconstruction effort. U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin confirmed that the funding was included in the previous year’s federal spending bill. As part of the ongoing demolition process, crews have removed around 10,000 tons of concrete from the old bridge deck. That material is currently being stored and is expected to be reused during the construction of the new structure.

Demolition of the original bridge began over the summer and has been a lengthy and complex process involving heavy machinery in the Patapsco River. In early October, crews installed the first test piles in the water to determine how much weight the new bridge’s foundation can handle and to verify the overall design. These piles, which measure eight feet in diameter and extend more than 200 feet long, will support a floating pier designed to absorb impacts. Some of these test piles might even become part of the permanent structure.

Jason Stolicny, deputy director of the MDTA, explained that equipment will be used to apply significant force to the piles to gather important data about the ground conditions beneath the riverbed. This information will help ensure that the new bridge is designed to withstand possible impacts without being structurally damaged.

The rebuild follows the tragic collapse of the Key Bridge on March 26, 2024, when the cargo ship Dali struck the bridge. The disaster killed six construction workers and forced the closure of the Port of Baltimore for nearly three months. The latter caused shipping delays and widespread economic concerns. It should be noted that in a report released in March 2025, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) placed blame on the MDTA for not conducting a vulnerability assessment that might have identified structural weaknesses beforehand. The MDTA responded by noting that the bridge had met all federal permitting and safety standards at the time.