Critical Baltimore Shipping Channel Reopens 11 Weeks After Bridge Collapse
New York TimesJun 11
Baltimore Shipping Channel Fully Reopens
Image copyright: Chip Somodevilla/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Officials announced Monday that the Fort McHenry Federal Channel, the main shipping channel into the Port of Baltimore, has fully reopened for the first time since the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that blocked most maritime traffic into the harbor.
This comes after weeks of cleanup, including the removal of approximately 50K tons of steel and concrete from Patapsco River following the bridge collapse that killed six.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The reopening of this channel is proof that government agencies can work together to complete even the biggest undertakings. In all, the couple of months it took to get the channel fully reopened was faster than expected. The same type of teamwork should lead to a speedy reconstruction of the bridge.
Establishment-critical narrative
Before taking a victory lap, government officials should have to answer for the Key Bridge being considered "fracture critical" in the first place. And while rebuilding the bridge is a worthy endeavor, the government has to figure out what to do to protect the eight other major bridges nationwide that have been deemed vulnerable to a similar incident.