Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse: Economic and Infrastructure Consequences

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River in the early morning of Tuesday, March 26, 2024, after being hit by the large container ship “DALI”, tragically causing the loss of six lives.The Port of Baltimore is expected to be closed for weeks, even months, as the debris of the bridge and container ship are removed (the timeline is still uncertain).

Trusted Insights for What’s Ahead™

• The temporary closure of the port is unlikely to have a national economic impact, but will impact the city of Baltimore and surrounding region, including increased roadway congestion. Each day port is closed could cost the Baltimore region up to $15 million in economic activity, according to some estimates. The automotive and coal industries will be the most negatively affected.
• Companies will re-route cargo to the larger east coast ports (Port of Virginia, Port of NY/NJ, and Port of Savannah/Brunswick), which do have the capacity to absorb the freight at this time.
• It will take years to design and construct a replacement bridge, which could likely be a public-private-partnership (P3) effort using tolling to partially fund the project.