The Francis Scott Key Bridge, two years later

March 26, 2026·25 min·2 clips

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The commute is the human scale. Longshoreman Dave Koslin says he used to sit in traffic angry, and now he mostly accepts that there is nothing to do but get through it. The state says it knows people are tired of it. Governor Wes Moore ties that frustration to Maryland's push to rebuild the bridge quickly, even as the schedule slips. The project is now expected to take two years longer than first planned, and the budget has more than doubled. Maryland says the bridge could cost up to $5.2 billion, with the federal government covering the bill. Moore says those first estimates came just days after the collapse, while the state was still dealing with an active disaster. His answer gets heavy fast: bodies were still in the water, and officials were trying to bring closure and comfort to families who lost people. He also says the old bridge is the wrong measuring stick. Many early assumptions were based on the bridge built in 1975, not the one Maryland wants now. The replacement is bigger, taller, and longer, with room for larger ships to pass underneath. Moore says Maryland has to account for changes in maritime operations, communications, and commerce. The design moved fast by the state's telling: the bulk of the bridge in 14 months, compared with an average of seven years. Construction is slower. Jim Harkness, chief engineer for the Maryland Transportation Authority, says foundations in the water take about a year before the bridge starts rising vertically.

As heard by us

A clear Marketplace report on how traffic, public spending, engineering timelines, and maritime commerce meet in the Key Bridge rebuild.

Marketplace frames the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild as a business story with human stakes: longer commutes, a budget that could reach $5.2 billion, federal funding, and a replacement built for larger ships than the 1970s span could accommodate.

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Maryland is rebuilding the Key Bridge as a longer, taller cable-stayed bridge, with a budget that could reach $5.2 billion and a timeline two years longer than first expected.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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