Calling all bridge builders. The state of Maryland has opened its call for the design and construction of the replacement Francis Scott Key Bridge and teams have three weeks to put together a package for selection. The Maryland Transportation Authority sent out Friday its request for proposals for the new span, which is expected to cost between $1.
7 billion and $1.9 billion . Proposals are due June 24 and the prospective builder — which will likely be a team composed of several companies — will be selected “mid-to-late summer,” the transportation authority said in a news release.
Authorities hope construction will begin in 2025 and that in fall 2028, the new bridge will be complete. Under normal circumstances, there would be years of study and design ahead of a bridge construction project, but time is of the essence. Each passing day without the Key Bridge, Baltimore and the surrounding region feels the effects on its traffic and commerce.
Between now and 2028, there is much to do. Wreckage from the old bridge — which the container ship Dali knocked down two months ago, killing six construction workers and choking commerce to the Port of Baltimore by blocking the shipping channel — remains in the Patapsco River, as do standing portions of the bridge. There is also the matter of design: Planning for a bridge typically takes years.
To expedite the process in this case, the team chosen to build the bridge will design as it goes in a “progressive design-build” pro.
