BALTIMORE — Negotiations on the final cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge are expected to begin within weeks as Maryland officials continue advancing design and early construction work, state transportation leaders said.

Bruce Gartner, executive director of the Maryland Transportation Authority, said the talks with contractors will help determine the project’s final price tag as well as timelines for the full rebuild.

Original estimates placed the project between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion with a 2028 opening. But by November, projections had climbed sharply to between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion, with completion now expected in late 2030.

One construction contract has already been handed out. Kiewit Infrastructure received a $73 million Phase 1 contract in August 2024 and they’ve started on what transport officials call the “early work packages” such as demolition, removing remnants of the old bridge and driving test piles into the riverbed.

Gov. Wes Moore, speaking at a Thursday news conference, acknowledged concerns about the rising cost and the speed of the project, but said the state remains focused on delivering a bridge that meets modern safety and shipping demands.

“We know that this is going to be a bridge that will be able to withstand the type of ships and the size and the enormity of the ships that are now moving,” Moore said. “The commitment that we have is that we are going to do something with a speed that this moment requires, and also, frankly, a speed that the Port of Baltimore requires.”

Hearing bell sounds in the river

Clanging belllike sounds reverberated across the Patapsco River on Thursday morning as construction crews drove piles deep into the riverbed, preparing for the next steps of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The noise, akin to clanging church bells, is a sign of progress in the massive effort to rebuild the essential thoroughfare that crossed the harbor. The steel pipe pile crews were working on — eight feet in diameter, one and a half inches thick and more than 200 feet long — is one of the production piles for the new bridge foundation, according to Jim Harkness, chief engineer for the Maryland Transportation Authority.

The rebuild reached a 70% design milestone late last year, according to state transportation officials, and it’s expected to be at 100% design by June.

“The work that’s happening behind us is instrumental to advancing that schedule,” Harkness said to reporters aboard a vessel to see the rebuild site. “That’s why we’ve started it while we’re still in design, to enable us to continue to reach that schedule while we still negotiate cost and schedule with the contractor.”

The scene Thursday morning was a stark contrast from what the site looked like two years ago when the mangled remains of the bridge rested atop the Dali, the container ship that struck it. The allision brought the structure down, killed six construction workers and halted traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore’s shipping channel for two months.

Additional work is underway — temporary construction trestle is also being installed, Harkness said. That will allow contractors to easily access future pier locations on the water, moving supplies, materials and equipment. Eventually, it will reach out to where crews are driving production piles.

“What we’ve accomplished in 14 months, going from 0% design, bringing on the contractor, to getting to 70% design where we could work on negotiating and estimating it — that is breakneck speed, essentially,” Harkness said.

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