According to the authorities’ announcement, the crane installed at the site is capable of transporting 1,000 tons. On Saturday, there will be another crane near the bridge ruins that can transport 400 tons.
Removal of the structure's steel frame and highway debris, and preparation of the work, are being managed by the U.S. Army's Military Engineering Unit in cooperation with the Coast Guard. The Navy is also involved in the work.
Admiral Shannon Gilreath, a senior Coast Guard officer, said a comprehensive survey of the wreckage was needed to cut the bridge into pieces that cranes could lift. He called reopening the Port of Baltimore a priority, MTI wrote.
It may take years to rebuild
According to previous reports, the closure of the port causes serious damage daily not only to the state of Maryland, but also to the entire US economy, because the port dominates the national level in transporting cars and agricultural equipment.
President Joe Biden on Thursday approved $60 million in immediate funding for Maryland, promising earlier that the federal government would support the full rebuilding process.
The reconstruction process may take years, and initial estimates indicate that the cost is no less than $400 million.
In a press conference on Thursday, Maryland Governor Wes Moore described removing the debris as a very difficult task and added that it would be a long task. According to media experts, it could take weeks to clear the shipping route.
The bridge collapsed within seconds
The Head of State included searching for the remains of four people who have not yet been found among the dead. The work of search divers was suspended on Thursday, because it has become dangerous to work among the wreckage and wreckage, where visibility is practically non-existent. Police officials said vehicles suspected of containing additional victims were among the rubble.
It is believed that six people died in the bridge disaster, all of them maintenance workers working on the bridge. Two bodies were found in a truck on Wednesday. Two people were rescued alive from the water immediately after the bridge collapsed. The victims are of Mexican, Guatemalan, Salvadoran and Honduran origin.
The cause of the bridge's collapse was a disabled container carrier colliding with it. The out-of-control ship issued an emergency signal before the collision, so the police were able to stop traffic on the bridge in time, but they were no longer able to notify maintenance workers. Based on the footage published, vehicles were still driving on the bridge one minute before it collapsed.
The Federal Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is investigating the circumstances of the disaster that occurred early Tuesday morning, has interviewed the ship's captain and senior officers, as well as the two flight attendants who were on board the ship at the time of the collision.
The Dali cruise ship, carrying thousands of containers and sailing under the Singaporean flag, collided with one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and the bridge collapsed within seconds. Spanning the mouth of the Patapsco River, the bridge is 1.6 miles (2.6 km) in total length and rises about 150 feet (55 m) above the water.
