This 2017 photo shows the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695) looking south from Fort McHenry National Monument. (Photo by Steve Anderson.)

Type of bridge:
Construction started:
Opened to traffic:
Length of main span:
Length of side spans:
Length of continuous truss span:
Total length of bridge and approaches:
Width of roadway:
Number of traffic lanes:
Clearance at center above mean high water:
Cost of original structure:
Date of collapse:

Continuous truss
August 24, 1972
March 23, 1977
1,200 feet (365.8 meters)
722 feet (220.1 meters)
2,644 feet (805.9 meters)
8,636 feet (2,632.3 meters)
52 feet (15.8 meters)
4 lanes
185 feet (56.4 meters)
$60,300,000
March 26, 2024

  • Tolls are not being collected at this time.
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PLANNED SINCE THE FIFTIES: As work wound down on the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (I-895) in 1957, the Maryland State Roads Commission suggested that a second tunnel beneath Baltimore Harbor. Believing such a tunnel could be integrated into the Interstate highway network then under development, the state began location studies for the proposed tunnel. In 1958, the state purchased 17 acres of a 137-acre tract held by the General Services Administration at Hawkins Point, but did not pursue any further action.

With the original four-lane Harbor Tunnel exceeding full design capacity at roughly 65,000 vehicles per day (AADT) by 1964 and projections for 1980 at double this level, the State Roads Commission advocated construction of a second four-lane tunnel between Hawkins Point and Sollers Point ahead of a parallel Chesapeake Bay Bridge (US 50 and US 301). Commission Chairman John Funk called the second harbor crossing "a bread-and-butter, 52-weeks a year proposition," while calling the second bay bridge "a four months a year problem." The state estimated the cost of the proposed Outer Baltimore Harbor Crossing, which comprised a four-lane tunnel and approach highways that were to complete the Baltimore Beltway (I-695), at between $150 million and $175 million (in 1964 dollars).

TUNNEL PLANS GET STOPPED IN THE WATER: In 1968, the State Roads Commission sold $220 million in bonds to cover the projected costs of the four-lane tunnel and its approach highways, as well as additional funds to pay for the parallel Chesapeake Bay Bridge. This was seen as a first step toward reality for the Outer Baltimore Harbor Crossing. However, with construction costs rising rapidly, the state scaled back of the scope of the project from a twin-tube, four-lane tunnel to a single-tube, two-lane tunnel.

Initial test borings were made for the tunnel beneath Baltimore Harbor in 1969, and work on the causeway and viaduct approaches began early in 1970. In July of that year, the State Roads Commission entertained bids for the tunnel. Even given the reduced scope of the project, the relatively high bids on the tunnel project alone - which ranged from $50 million to $60 million - prompted the state to pursue a four-lane bridge alternative. The state received a $19.5 million bid for the bridge's substructure in August 1972, followed by a $30.7 million bid for the superstructure two months later.

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION: The Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA), which took over jurisdiction of the state's toll roads and water crossings in 1971, commissioned J.E. Greiner, a leading Baltimore-based engineering design firm (and now part of the URS Corporation), to oversee construction of the bridge. A conventional suspension design was considered for the crossing, but the idea was abandoned over concerns about the cost and size of the anchorages.

Engineers finally decided upon a continuous steel truss design that had a 1,200-foot-long main span (between piers) - which at the time was to be longest continuous-truss span in the United States - and two 722-foot-long side spans. Borrowing from the design of many steel arch spans, the main truss span was suspended by steel cables. On both sides of the three-span truss bridge were three 300-foot-long girder spans to the west and six girder spans of identical length to the east; these spans were hoisted onto the bridge in their entirety to reduce construction costs. A series of shorter spans built on fill (causeway) connected the bridge to the mainland. The bridge was built to accommodate four 12-foot-wide vehicular lanes, but there are no shoulders. A four-foot-wide concrete ("Jersey") barrier separates opposing traffic flows.

Construction was plagued by faulty concrete work on the main piers of the bridge, as well as by the death of a construction worker when a shaft of steel rods collapsed. The bridge was opened to traffic on March 23, 1977 at a cost of $60 million, about 15 months behind schedule and $10 million over budget. Including the nearly 11 miles of approaches, the cost of the Outer Crossing project was $136 million. Completion of the span brought the 26-year-old Baltimore Beltway project to its conclusion.

Shortly before the bridge opened, it was renamed in honor of Francis Scott Key, who penned the "Star-Spangled Banner" at nearby Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.

This 1972 blueprint shows the design plan for the superstructure of the "Baltimore Harbor Outer Crossing -- Patapsco River Bridge," later known as the Francis Scott Key Bridge. (Blueprint from the Maryland Transportation Authority archives.)

This 1975 photo shows the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695) under construction. (Photo from Maryland Transportation Authority archives.)

BRINGING THE APPROACHES UP TO INTERSTATE STANDARDS: When they were built between 1970 and 1973, the approaches leading to the Francis Scott Key Bridge were designed under the assumption that there was to be a two-lane tunnel, not a four-lane bridge. This included the 3,379-foot-long drawbridge over Curtis Creek near Hawkins Point (west of the Key Bridge) and the 3,907-foot-long viaduct over Bear Creek near Sparrows Point (east of the Key Bridge). Because these approaches were not up to Interstate standards, along with the fact that the Outer Baltimore Harbor Crossing was not one of the original Interstate routes planned for Baltimore, the completed project received the MD 695 designation.

The MdTA built a parallel drawbridge over Curtis Creek for the beltway extension between 1978 and 1981. The completion of this project brought four lanes of traffic capacity on the Baltimore Beltway extension from the Arundel Expressway (MD 10) to the Francis Scott Key Bridge. In the closed position, the Curtis Creek drawbridges provide 60 feet of vertical clearance. The beltway bridge over Curtis Creek parallels the adjacent four-lane MD 173 bridge over Curtis Creek, which also was built during the 1970s.

Work on upgrading the easterly Sollers Point-Sparrows Point approach took much longer. When this approach was built, the nearby Bethlehem Steel-Sparrows Point complex (now known as Baltimore Marine Industries, Inc.) was a very active shipbuilding and repair facility, requiring the construction of a two-lane, 3.5-mile-long viaduct to cross the 16 roads and two railroads that served the complex. However, the scaling down of operations at the Sparrows Point Bethlehem Steel prompted the MdTA to consider replacing the two-lane viaduct with a four-lane surface freeway. The $89.5 million project began in 1995, and by 1998 the two-lane eastbound roadway opened to two-way traffic. Work began soon thereafter on demolishing the old viaduct, which later became the right-of-way for the two-lane westbound roadway. The project, which included the twinning of the span over Bear Creek, as well as simplified interchanges at MD 157 (Peninsula Expressway) and MD 151 (North Point Boulevard), was completed in January 2000.

Although the entire length of the Baltimore Beltway was not up to Interstate standards until the Sollers Point-Sparrow Point upgrade was completed, I-695 shields began to appear along the MD 695 segment of the beltway as early as 1988.

In 2004, the MdTA converted the far left toll lanes northbound and southbound into 30 MPH "high speed" EZ-Pass lanes at the existing toll plaza. Fully cashless tolling began at the Key Bridge in 2019, and the existing toll plazas were demolished in 2021. With the completion of this project, vehicles were able to pay their tolls while driving at the 55 MPH speed limit.

SECURING THE KEY BRIDGE: According to the MdTA, the Francis Scott Key Bridge carried approximately 31,000 vehicles per day. The bridge served as popular route for through trucks unable to use the Fort McHenry and Harbor Tunnels.

However, the prospect of overweight and unsafe cargo prompted the MdTA to address security risks, especially in wake of a 2005 terror threat that closed both tunnels for hours. Work began in 2006 on a $26.5 million project to provide a security inspection and weigh station along the eastbound lanes of I-695 at EXIT 1 (MD 173 / Hawkins Point Road), just before the Hawkins Point approach to the Key Bridge. The project, which moved the eastbound EXIT 1 exit and entrance ramps east to Fort Armistead Road, was completed in 2008.

This 2001 photo shows the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695) looking east from Hawkins Point. (Photo by Jim K. Georges.)

This 2005 photo shows the westbound / inner loop lanes of the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695) approaching mid-span. (Photo by Steve Anderson.)

A CATASTROPHIC COLLAPSE: At 1:28 AM on March 26, 2024, a 984-foot (300-meter) long Singapore-flagged container vessel, the Dali, struck the western main support of the Key Bridge, sending the entire superstructure and three of the eastern approach girder spans into the Patapsco River. The Sri Lanka-bound container ship, which according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was traversing Baltimore Harbor at a speed of 9 MPH, was reported to have lost power twice in the minutes before hitting the bridge.

As the vessel lost power, the vessel's crew placed a mayday call to the MdTA Police just two minutes before the vessel struck the bridge, giving the MdTA Police enough time to stop traffic on both approaches. A team of eight construction workers repairing concrete was on the bridge at the time of the collapse. Two workers survived, but six workers perished.

The collapse of the Key Bridge was eerily similar to the collapse of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge's southbound span in 1980, when that bridge was hit by the bulk freighter MV Summit Venture. Unlike the Sunshine Skyway Bridge disaster, which occurred under limited visibility and high winds, weather conditions and visibility were more favorable in the early morning hours of March 26, 2024. Early indications have pointed to the Key Bridge's wooden fender system, which dated back to its original construction and did not appear as robust as the concrete cofferdams and "dolphins" (small artificial protective islands) that have been built around bridge piers in the wake of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapse. As for the bridge itself, it received a 6 out of 9, or "fair" score, in its 2022 Federal inspection, though the bridge's condition is not likely to have contributed to the collapse.

Some reports after the disaster also pointed to the lack of a tugboat accompanying the Dali, considering that the port is less than two miles (three kilometers) away from the Port of Baltimore. According to a report in USA Today, a pair of tugboats operated by McAllister Towing and Transportation towed the Dali out of the main terminal at the Port of Baltimore, but broke away from the larger vessel before the bridge. A final report from the NTSB regarding the ship strike and subsequent bridge collapse has yet to be completed.

IMPACTS FAR AND WIDE: Although the port remains open to trucks, the closure of the Port of Baltimore to nautical traffic is likely to have far-reaching ramifications for the local, regional, and national economies. In addition to disrupting supply chains for light vehicles, sugar, gypsum, and coal, and other commodities, the disabling of the port is likely to affect about 15,000 jobs directly and more than 100,000 jobs indirectly. Officials estimate it could take a few months to remove all of the debris from the bridge collapse and make the Patapsco River passage passable. According to Lloyd's and Fitch Ratings, the collapse and resulting port closures is estimated to be between $2 billion and $4 billion, the largest marine insurance claim in history, with the losses anticipated to be spread across multiple carriers.

Moreover, the Key Bridge collapse removes an important route for overheight and hazmat trucks that cannot use the Fort McHenry Tunnel (I-95) or the Harbor Tunnel (I-895) through Baltimore. Long detours around the I-695 western arc of the Baltimore Beltway--which runs through a more congested area, and which is undergoing its own reconstruction project--likely will add further to shipping delays and costs.

A NEW CROSSING: On the afternoon following the bridge collapse, officials from the Biden Administration pledged to pay for the entire cost of a new crossing, though they did not specify the cost or the timing of any construction, which would be contingent on reopening the Port of Baltimore. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was quick to add that insurance proceeds would be used to offset the Federal government funds. On March 28, 2024, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced $60 million in emergency relief funds as a "down payment," one of many steps toward rebuilding the Key Bridge.

No official replacement design, timetable, or cost estimates have been provided. However, engineers estimate any replacement would as little as two-and-one-half years for a "replace-in-kind" design that replaces the superstructure and keeps the approaches, to five years or move for a full replacement that likely would include a new superstructure with a higher clearance that would accommodate post-Panamax ships of up to 215 feet in height.

Some experts have suggested that a cable-stayed bridge be built at the site, given the savings in time and construction costs for this design. Other experts have suggested a tunnel be built at the site, as was the plan in the 1960s, though doing so would remove the overheight / hazmat bypass for I-95 truck traffic permanently. In a meeting on April 4, 2024, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld told the MdTA board that the state seeks to rebuild the Key Bridge with a design that "meets current standards."

For now, I-695 eastbound / outer loop traffic is being diverted at EXIT 1 (MD 173 / Hawkins Point Road), while I-695 westbound / inner loop traffic is being diverted at EXIT 43 (MD 157 / Peninsula Expressway).

This 2024 photo shows the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695) just moments after its catastrophic collapse into the Patapsco River. The crippled Singapore-flagged vessel Dali lies at the bridge's western main pier. (Photo by Baltimore City Fire Department, Truck 6.)

This 2024 photo shows the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695) just a few hours after its catastrophic collapse into the Patapsco River. The crippled Singapore-flagged vessel Dali lies at the bridge's western main pier. This photo was taken from the Top of the World observatory at Baltimore's World Trade Center. (Photo by Jim Schuyler).

This 2024 photo shows the Francis Scott Key Bridge (I-695) the morning after its catastrophic collapse into the Patapsco River. This photo was taken from Sparrows Point. (Photo by Adam Kukla.)

SOURCES: "Baltimore Thinks Ahead to Second Harbor Tunnel," The Washington Post (10/13/1957); "Second Harbor Tube Planned," The Washington Post (5/10/1958); "Second Baltimore Tunnel Urged by Road Chairman," The Washington Post (8/27/1964); "Bonds Sold for Tunnel, Bay Bridge," The Washington Post (10/11/1968); "Maryland Ponders Bid on Harbor Tunnel," The Washington Post (7/25/1970); Baltimore Harbor Outer Crossing: Final Environmental Impact Statement, US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, and Maryland Transportation Authority (1972); "Worker Crushed by Steel Cable," The Washington Post (5/06/1973); "Delay on Bridge," The Washington Post (8/08/1974); "New Bridge Bypasses the Baltimore Tunnel," The New York Times (3/27/1977); "Terror Threat Ties Up Baltimore Tunnels" by Eric Rich and John Wagner, The Washington Post (10/19/2005); "MdTA Announces Cashless Tolls for Two Bridges in Maryland" by Blair Young, WBAL-TV (9/26/2019); "Six Workers Presumed Dead; Baltimore's Key Bridge Collapses After Container Ship Hits Support Column" by Hayes Gardner and Christine Condon, The Baltimore Sun (3/26/2024); "What To Know About the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse" by Emily Mae Czachor, WJZ-TV (3/26/2024); "Port Worker Union President on Bridge Collapse: 'It's Catastrophic for Us'" by Tommie Clark, WBAL-TV (3/27/2024); "Rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge Will Likely Take Years, Experts Say" by Tom Jackman and Emily Davies; The Washington Post (3/27/2024); "US Supply Chain Task Force To Discuss Baltimore Bridge Collapse," Reuters (3/27/2024); "Janet Yellen Walks Back Biden's Comments US Taxpayers on Hook for Baltimore Bridge Collapse" by Bradford Betz, Fox Business Network (3/27/2024); "What To Know About the Cargo Ship Dali," The Associated Press (3/28/2024); "Tugboats Left Before Ship Reached Baltimore Bridge; They Might Have Saved It" by Emily Le Coz and Trevor Hughes, USA Today (3/28/2024); "Baltimore Disaster May Be the Largest-Ever Marine Insurance Payout, Lloyd's Boss Says" by Jenni Reid, CNBC (3/28/2024); "Fitch Says Baltimore Bridge Collapse Likely To Be Largest Marine Insurance Claim in History" by Stephen Nakrosis, The Wall Street Journal (3/28/2024); "Maryland Receives $60 Million in Initial Key Bridge Federal Relief Funds" by Jacob Bogage and Danny Nguyen, The Washington Post (3/28/2024); "Engineers Say a Cable-Stayed Bridge Could Be in Port of Baltimore's Future" by Jonathan M. Pitts, The Baltimore Sun (4/06/2024); Maryland Transportation Authority; Jim K. Georges; Scott Kozel; Dan Murphy; Laura Bianca-Pruett; Mike Pruett; Alexander Svirsky; C. Patrick Zilliacus.

  • I-695 shield by Ralph Herman.
  • Lightposts by Millerbernd Manufacturing Company.
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