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Coordinates: 39°13′1″N 76°31′42″W / 39.21694°N 76.52833°W / 39.21694; -76.52833
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| coordinates = {{Wikidatacoord|Q5482413|region:US-MD_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates = {{Wikidatacoord|Q5482413|region:US-MD_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| maint = [[Maryland Transportation Authority]]
| maint = [[Maryland Transportation Authority]]
| id = [https://infobridge.fhwa.dot.gov/Data/BridgeDetail/24651806 300000BCZ472010]
| id =
| design = [[Steel]] arch-shaped [[Continuous truss bridge|continuous through truss bridge]]
| design = [[Steel]] arch-shaped [[Continuous truss bridge|continuous through truss bridge]]
| material = Steel
| material = Steel

Revision as of 10:35, 26 March 2024

Francis Scott Key Bridge
The former Francis Scott Key Bridge, viewed from Fort Armistead Park at Hawkins Point on the south shore of the outer Patapsco River – southeastern corner of Baltimore City (2015)
Coordinates39°13′1″N 76°31′42″W / 39.21694°N 76.52833°W / 39.21694; -76.52833
Carried4 lanes of
I-695 Toll
CrossedPatapsco River
LocaleBaltimore, Maryland
Maintained byMaryland Transportation Authority
ID number300000BCZ472010
Characteristics
DesignSteel arch-shaped continuous through truss bridge
MaterialSteel
Total length8,636 feet (2,632.3 m; 1.6 mi)
Longest span1,200 feet (366 m)
Clearance above185 feet[citation needed]
History
Construction start1972[1]
OpenedMarch 23, 1977; 47 years ago (1977-03-23)
CollapsedMarch 26, 2024; 4 months ago (2024-03-26)
(Partial)
Statistics
TollPassenger cars:
$3 Maryland E-ZPass
$4 non-Maryland E-ZPass
$6 Video toll
Location
Map

The Francis Scott Key Bridge, known originally (while still being under construction) as the Outer Harbor Crossing until it was renamed in 1976, or simply the Key Bridge or Beltway Bridge, was a steel arch-shaped continuous through truss bridge spanning the lower Patapsco River and outer Baltimore Harbor / Port carrying Maryland Route 695 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The main span of 1,200 feet (366 m) was the third longest span of any continuous truss in the world.[2] It was the longest bridge in the Baltimore metropolitan area. On March 26, 2024 at 01:27 a.m. EDT (UTC–4), the bridge partially collapsed after the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali collided with one of its support pillars.[3][4]

The bridge was opened on March 23, 1977, and was named for amateur poet Francis Scott Key (1779–1843), the author of the American national anthem, the "Star Spangled Banner". The bridge was the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore's Harbor, two tunnels and one bridge. Upon completion, the bridge structure and its approaches became the final links in Interstate 695, the "Baltimore Beltway", completing a two decades long project. Despite the I-695 signage, the bridge was officially considered part of the state highway system and designated Maryland Route 695.[5][6]

The bridge was 8,636 feet (2,632 m) long and carried an estimated 11.5 million vehicles annually. It was a designated hazardous materials truck route, as HAZMATs are prohibited in the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels.

The Key Bridge was a toll facility operated by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA). The toll rate for cars as of July 1, 2013 was $4.00. The bridge was part of the E-ZPass system, and included two dedicated E-ZPass lanes in its toll plaza in both the northbound and southbound directions. In April 2019, MDTA announced that the bridge would become a cashless toll facility by October 2019. With this system, customers without E-ZPass would pay using video tolling.[7] Cashless tolling began on the bridge on October 30, 2019.[8]

History

In the 1960s, the old Maryland State Roads Commission concluded there was a need for a second harbor crossing after the earlier Baltimore Harbor Thruway and Tunnel opened in 1957. They began planning another single-tube tunnel under the Patapsco River, further to the southeast, downstream from the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. The proposed site was between Hawkins Point and Sollers Point in the outer harbor. Plans also were underway for a drawbridge to the south over Curtis Creek, replacing an earlier 1931 drawbridge carrying Pennington Avenue over the creek, to connect Hawkins Point to Sollers Point.

At the same time, a bridge was planned for the segment of an additional through highway for the East Coast with I-95 that would run through the city near Fort McHenry and paralleling the Harbor Tunnel Thruway.[citation needed] This was replaced by what is now known as the Fort McHenry Tunnel, a major expensive project, a four-tube facility running under and curving around historic Fort McHenry, that opened in 1985.[9]

Sign for the Key Bridge used on approach roads

The project was financed by a $220 million bond issue alongside the twinning of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in October 1968.[10] Contractors took bearings of the outer harbor bottom and ship channel in the spring of 1969.[citation needed] Bids for construction of the proposed Outer Harbor Tunnel were opened in July 1970, but price proposals were substantially higher than the engineering estimates.[11] Officials drafted alternative plans, including a four-lane bridge, which was approved by the General Assembly in April 1971.[12][13]

The bridge, at an estimated cost of $110 million, would have more traffic lanes and lower operating and maintenance costs than a tunnel.[citation needed] A bridge would provide a route across the Baltimore Harbor for vehicles transporting hazardous materials, which are prohibited from both the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels.[14] The United States Coast Guard issued its bridge permit in June 1972, replacing an earlier approval of the tunnel from the Army Corps of Engineers.[10] Construction of the Outer Harbor Bridge began in 1972,[15] several years behind schedule and $33 million overbudget.[16]

The bridge – still under construction – was named in 1976 for Francis Scott Key, who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814.[17] Key had been aboard an American truce ship with the British Royal Navy fleet in Baltimore Harbor near Sollers Point; the approximate location is 100 yards (91 m) of the bridge and marked by a buoy in the colors of the U.S. flag.[15][18] Another Francis Scott Key Bridge crosses the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.[citation needed]

The Key Bridge opened to traffic on March 23, 1977.[19] Including its connecting approaches, the bridge project was 10.9 miles (17.54 km) in length. Other structures along the thruway included a 0.64-mile (1.03 km) dual-span drawbridge over Curtis Creek and two 0.74-mile (1.19 km) parallel bridge structures that carry traffic over Bear Creek.

The bridge opened with four lanes, but its approaches were two lanes to reduce costs.[14] The south approach was widened in 1983. A project for the north approach was completed in 1999 after several years of delays.[14][20] The delay was attributed in part to the widening's impacts on a Bethlehem Steel plant in Sparrows Point.[citation needed]

  • Key Bridge with Baltimore in background, viewed from Cox Creek Industrial Park, in northeast Anne Arundel County, November 2011 to the south
    Key Bridge with Baltimore in background, viewed from Cox Creek Industrial Park, in northeast Anne Arundel County, November 2011 to the south
  • Key Bridge looking to the northeast with Sparrows Point and the Bethlehem Steel Corporation steel mill and shipyards of southeast Baltimore County in the distance, February 2018
    Key Bridge looking to the northeast with Sparrows Point and the Bethlehem Steel Corporation steel mill and shipyards of southeast Baltimore County in the distance, February 2018
  • Driving eastbound across the bridge, November 2023

Collapse

Main article: Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse

On March 26, 2024, at around 01:28 EDT (05:28 UTC), part[4] of the through truss bridge collapsed after the Singaporean container ship Dali collided with one of the support pillars. The collapse was declared a mass casualty incident. An unknown number of vehicles and construction workers were on the bridge at the time of the collision and subsequent collapse.[21][22]

References

  1. ^ Francis Scott Key Bridge at Structurae
  2. ^ Durkee, Jackson, World's Longest Bridge Spans, National Steel Bridge Alliance, May 24, 1999.
  3. ^ Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapses after being struck by ship Washington Post
  4. ^ a b Ship strikes Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge causing partial collapse, Maryland officials say ABC News
  5. ^ Maryland State Highway Administration (2007). "Highway Location Reference: Baltimore County" (PDF). Retrieved April 15, 2009. [dead link]
  6. ^ Maryland State Highway Administration (2005). "Highway Location Reference: Baltimore City" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
  7. ^ Fulginiti, Jenny (April 12, 2019). "Cashless tolls coming to Key, Hatem bridges in October". WBAL. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  8. ^ "Drivers Going Through Tolls At Hatem And Key Bridges Won't Be Able To Use Cash By Late October". Baltimore, MD: WJZ-TV. September 26, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  9. ^ Warner, Susan (September 23, 1985). "Motorists slated to see light at end of Fort McHenry tunnel on Nov. 23". The Baltimore Sun. p. A1. Retrieved March 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b Ayres, Horace (June 10, 1972). "Last Hurdle Cleared For Harbor Bridge". The Baltimore Sun. p. 18. Retrieved March 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Kraus, Kathy (July 24, 1970). "Bids On Outer Harbor Tunnel $18 Million Over Estimates". The Baltimore Sun. p. C20. Retrieved March 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Lynton, Stephen J. (January 7, 1971). "Tunnel Shaping Up As Bridge". The Baltimore Sun. p. D20. Retrieved March 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Bridge Wins Approval of Legislature". The Baltimore Sun. April 3, 1971. p. B18. Retrieved March 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ a b c Jensen, Peter (September 22, 1994). "I-695 Key Bridge approach to expand". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Key Bridge (I-695)". Maryland Transportation Authority. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  16. ^ Orrick, Bentley (August 5, 1973). "Harbor crossing tops Bay Bridge in delay, overrun". The Baltimore Sun. p. A1. Retrieved March 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Harbor Bridge Named For Francis Scott Key". The Baltimore Sun. June 22, 1976. p. C5. Retrieved March 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Read, Zoe (June 7, 2014). "Coast Guard celebrates 200th anniversary of Battle of Fort McHenry". Capital Gazette. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  19. ^ "Key Bridge opens at 10 A.M. today". The Baltimore Sun. March 23, 1977. p. C6. Retrieved March 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Baltimore Beltway coming full circle; Divided lanes finished on the southeast arc". The Baltimore Sun. November 6, 1999. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  21. ^ "Key Bridge in Baltimore collapses after large boat collision". WTOP News. March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  22. ^ "Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapses after ship struck it, sending vehicles into water". March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.

Media related to Francis Scott Key Bridge (Baltimore) at Wikimedia Commons

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