Fort McHenry Federal Canal reopens after bridge collapse

The 270-meter-wide Fort McHenry Federal Canal reopened Monday, restoring operations at the Port of Baltimore, Unified Command Key Bridge Response announced.

It was restored to its original operating dimensions of 700 feet wide and 50 feet deep for commercial maritime transportation through the Port of Baltimore.

“We are proud of the collaborative effort that has fully reopened the federal channel to port operations,” Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said in a statement Monday evening. “The partnerships that endured through this response ensured the success of this critical mission.”

After nearly 11 weeks, officials said crews had removed all the steel but were conducting final sonar inspections to ensure no debris remained below the mud line.

“We’re going to make sure we’re as thorough and as disciplined as we have been on every elevation so that every time we cross the channel, navigation is safe,” U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. Estee Pinchasin, commander of the Baltimore District, told 11 News earlier on Monday .

After clearing the wreckage in 50 feet of mud, the Unified Command conducted a survey of the Federal Canal on Monday and confirmed the riverbed was safe for transit.

Now crews are returning with sonar to check for elevations in the riverbed.

“These protruding fragments were examined. Sometimes it was just mud from the suction from the bucket remaining, and sometimes we pulled out very long pieces of wreckage that were about 50 feet deep, some up to 80 feet long,” Pinchasin said.

The process took longer than the late May deadline, but the Army Corps of Engineers wants to be absolutely sure the canal is safe before it is completed.

“We have planned to dredge this channel in the upcoming fiscal year 2025 and we want to make sure that we do not leave these types of obstacles for dredgers to pass through it,” Pinchasin said.

The work is not completely finished; Crews still need to remove the wreckage outside that channel.

“The Corps of Engineers never ends,” Pinchasin said. “This is our channel. We maintain it all the time. God willing, we will maintain it for many generations to come.”

All clean-up and rescue works are to be completed by the end of June. The Maryland Transportation Authority will host a virtual community event on the Key Build Rebuild facility on Tuesday at 6 p.m. It is open to the public, but those interested in attending must register. Visit the following website for more information and to learn how to register for the Virtual Community Update.

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This content has been imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.