Wes Moore takes Republican members of Congress on Key Bridge rebuild tour

Congress has agreed to fully fund the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild, but it could always change its mind.

To that end, Gov. Wes Moore took some lawmakers, including Republicans, on a field trip Monday to the overwater construction site.

Massive machinery, including six cranes and a 145-ton hammer positioned on a flotilla, is pounding hundreds of huge steel pilings into the Patapsco River to form the bridge’s foundation.

Moore, a Democrat, boarded a boat with five Democratic members of Maryland’s congressional delegation and two out-of-state Republicans, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas.

The project is set to be entirely funded by the federal government due to congressional action taken in December 2024. Though President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have complained about the project’s lengthening schedule and increasing cost, it would take an act of Congress to reverse the agreement.

“We’re very grateful that, on a bipartisan basis, Congress approved a 100% cost-share,” Moore said during the tour on an 80-foot boat. Also aboard were dozens of state transportation and port officials.

Moore described Womack as a friend and greeted the Republicans, who serve on committees relevant to federal transportation projects, with hugs. As the boat made its way through the sprawling marine construction site, the trio chatted about the bridge’s collapse and rebuild.

“This is not a shirts-and-skins issue. This is not a blue-red issue,” Womack said. “This is a national issue.”

Federal highway projects like the Key Bridge, which carries Interstate 695, are generally financed with 90% federal funds, leaving 10% to individual states. Following disasters, though, the federal government often picks up the full tab.

The difference between 0% and 10% might seem small. But in the case of a bridge that state officials expect to cost roughly $5 billion, it amounts to whether or not Maryland will be on the hook for about $500 million. The state is already contributing its insurance proceeds, as well as a settlement from the owner of the ship that knocked over the bridge, to the federal rebuild cost.

Kiewit, the initial contractor, had pitched a price tag of roughly $9 billion. But after the company and the state were far apart during cost negotiations, Maryland switched gears.

Instead of finding one builder for the whole project, the state is now segmenting it into four separate contracts, hoping that introducing new competition will drive down timelines and costs.

In the immediate aftermath of the March 2024 collapse, which killed six construction workers, the state anticipated the bridge would be completed by 2028 and cost under $2 billion. But the price has more than doubled and the schedule has stretched to 2030.

“That’s eye-popping,” Capito said, noting that lessons could be learned from the process: “Like maybe don’t put an estimate out until you’re really sure what the estimate might be.”

The state made its initial cost projection in order to access federal funds to support quick planning of the rebuild. Officials have said that modern safety guidelines, the growing cost of pier protection, and macroeconomic factors have caused the price jump.

Capito said the 100% federal cost-share was a “bone of contention” when Congress approved funding for the project. She didn’t say whether she expected that funding commitment to remain in place, but she applauded Moore and Maryland for being “extremely transparent.”

Once she learned last year that the bridge’s cost expectations had increased, she sought to find out more, she said.

“That’s why I’m here today,” she said. “I want to see why these costs have ballooned.”

Maryland’s U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and Reps. Steny Hoyer, Kweisi Mfume, Glenn Ivey and Johnny Olszewski also attended, as did former Sen. Ben Cardin.

The state will identify the builder of the structure’s overwater portions — the most complicated contract — next year; meanwhile, Kiewit is finishing previously contracted tasks, including foundation work.

Moore’s critics regularly cite a lack of progress on the rebuild. He emphasized the difficulty of such a massive project on Monday.

“There has not been a single day since this bridge has fallen that we have not had people out here working,” he said.

Moore, who is up for reelection this fall, confirmed 2030 as the target completion date and said he expects to be governor when the span opens.

“I know it’s a very ambitious date,” he said.