Federal & State Leaders Work to Bridge the Gap on Rebuilding Plans

What happened: U.S. Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) met Jan. 15 to discuss replacements for the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and the American Legion Bridge just outside of Washington, D.C. The two leaders said they made “significant progress” on the terms for rebuilding both bridges.

They agreed on the need to speed up reconstruction of the American Legion Bridge by leveraging innovative approaches like a public-private partnership (P3) and discussed cost sharing for the Key Bridge to “ensure fairness.”

Why it matters: While Maryland owns both bridges, the respective rebuilds are in very different stages. However, both will likely require significant federal investment or credit assistance.

The Maryland Transportation Authority proceeded with a progressive design-build model to replace the Key Bridge, which collapsed in March 2024 from catastrophic damage caused by a cargo ship. Sec. Duffy wrote Gov. Moore in September of last year expressing concern over the project’s cost and contracting provisions for disadvantaged businesses.

As ARTBA reported last month, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently released a Request for Information (RFI) asking the public for “solutions or ideas” for replacing the 63-year-old American Legion Bridge. FHWA plans to share the replies, which are due Feb. 9, with Maryland officials.

What’s next: Declaring that “building great, big things shouldn’t be impossible in America,” Duffy and Moore said their teams will “continue to hash out the final details to ensure both critical bridge projects are completed quickly and affordably.”