Trump administration warns Maryland on new FSK bridge value

The federal authorities’s pledge to cowl the total value of rebuilding Maryland’s Francis Scott Key Bridge — a departure from the way in which most infrastructure tasks are financed — is coming beneath stress from the Trump administration.

Shortly after the bridge’s catastrophic collapse in March 2024, then-President Joe Biden promised to cowl the total substitute prices. In December, beneath the Biden administration, Congress agreed to a 100% federal value share as half of a bigger $100 billion of catastrophe aid funding included in a fiscal 2025 persevering with decision.

Since then, the Trump administration has expressed considerations about the associated fee and timeline of the undertaking in addition to the state’s use of diversity-equity-inclusion contracting necessities.

President Trump in an August social media squabble with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, threatened to “rethink” the federal dedication.

Maryland shortly after the collapse pegged the associated fee at round $1.9 billion with a 2028 completion date. The toll bridge was financed by a $220 million income bond issuance in 1968. 

The state is predicted to offer an replace on the associated fee and timeline later this yr.

On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy despatched Moore a letter asking for a gathering to go over the prices and timeline. The administration, he mentioned, desires the undertaking “to be a mannequin of the right way to construct shortly and cheaply.”

Duffy highlighted a current Politico report that mentioned the associated fee could rise to $5 billion and the completion date pushed again to 2030.

“It is my job to make sure the American folks’s tax {dollars} are spent correctly and main tasks are accomplished on time and on funds,” Duffy mentioned. “We are going to leverage our oversight authorities to make sure this very important bridge is rebuilt the appropriate means.”

Duffy additionally warned Moore to keep away from “DEI contracting,” saying it will drive up prices. The usage of “race- or sex-conscious components in contracting selections may introduce vital authorized vulnerabilities and inefficiencies within the administration of the undertaking,” Duffy mentioned.

Moore, in response to Duffy’s letter, mentioned the undertaking is already within the design section with demolition and pre-construction additionally underway.

“We are going to proceed to work with the Trump Administration to seek out methods to cut back prices and rebuild quicker,” Moore mentioned. “We anticipate the worth estimation course of to be finalized within the coming months and we’ll present common updates from the Maryland Division of Transportation concerning the undertaking’s standing.”

S&P International Rankings in April dropped the outlook for the Maryland Transportation Authority’s AA-minus-rated income bonds to detrimental from steady as a result of considerations concerning the federal funding promised to rebuild the bridge.

The FRSK bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River on the Port of Baltimore in March 2024 after being struck by an enormous cargo ship. The 1.6-mile-long bridge spans the Patapsco River simply south of Baltimore’s Interior Harbor and carries over 31,000 vehicles a day by way of 4 lanes of site visitors touring alongside I-695, a bypass round downtown Baltimore.