Prices Result in Doubling of Key Bridge Replacement Costs

Video: WBAL-TV 11

The projected cost to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore has more than doubled to around $5 billion, according to The Maryland Transit Administration, and the opening has been pushed back two years to 2030.

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The agency said design changes, including increasing the span and alterations for protecting the main piers, also contributed to the increase in the cost estimate and project timeline. The new cost estimate is between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion. The initial cost was estimated at slightly below $2 billion.

“As design has advanced and pre-construction work progresses, it became clear that material costs for all aspects of the project have increased drastically since the preliminary estimates were prepared less than two weeks after the initial tragedy,” said Samantha J. Biddle, acting transportation secretary and MDTA chair, in a press release. “The updated cost range and schedule are directly correlated to increased material costs and to a robust pier protection system designed to protect the new Key Bridge and reduce the likelihood of a future ship strike to the bridge’s foundational piers.”

The agency cited figures from the Federal Highway Administration that highway construction costs have risen 72% in the past five year. This includes labor and materials.