Baltimore marks one year since deadly Key Bridge collapse as long road to recovery remains
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BALTIMORE COUNTY EXECUTIVE CATHY KLAUSMEIER. GOOD MORNING. AND IT IS A GOOD MORNING THIS MORNING. LAST YEAR, IT WASN’T, BUT WE’RE HERE TO CONTINUE AND THINK ABOUT WHAT’S AHEAD OF US IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS. I FIRST WANT TO SAY MY CONDOLENCES ARE WITH ALL OF THOSE THAT HAVE PASSED ON THE BRIDGE AND THEIR FAMILIES. MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU ALL. I WANT TO THANK GOVERNOR WES MOORE FOR BEING HERE AND PULLING EVERYONE TOGETHER, AND I JUST HAVE A FEW WORDS THAT I JUST WANT TO READ. I’M THE NEWBIE ON THE BLOCK. THAT’S WHAT THAT’S ALL I KEPT THINKING TODAY BECAUSE I, I WAS SITTING IN ANNAPOLIS WITH MY COLLEAGUES THAT MORNING, AND I THINK SOMEONE SAID, SENATOR, SAILING IS HERE AND DELEGATE METZGER AND SENATOR SAILING GOT UP AND HE STARTED TO SPEAK, AND YOU COULD HAVE HEARD A PIN DROP BECAUSE IT WAS SUCH AN EVENT, THAT OF HORROR. AND JUST WE WERE ALL SPEECHLESS. BUT I JUST AM GRATEFUL THAT WE’RE ALL HERE TODAY. AND I WANT TO THANK GOVERNOR WES MOORE FOR GATHERING US AND FOR HIS CONTINUED EFFORTS TO HELP OUR REGION RECOVER. THANK YOU AS WELL TO ALL OUR FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL COMMUNITY PARTNERS. AND I JUST WANT TO SAY, I WAS WITH COUNTY EXECUTIVE OLSZEWSKI JUST THE DAY BEFORE THIS HAPPENED, AND MY HEART WENT OUT TO HIM THE NEXT DAY WHEN IT HAPPENED, IT WAS JUST SO UNBELIEVABLE TO THINK ABOUT. AND AS I SAID, IT WAS HE AND THE MAYOR AND COUNTY EXECUTIVE, PITTMAN, THAT I KEPT THINKING OF BECAUSE OF THE CONNECTION OF THE BRIDGE TOGETHER, WE ARE EMERGING FROM THIS DISASTER STRONGER AND MORE RESILIENT THAN BEFORE. WE STILL HAVE MANY STEPS AHEAD OF US, BUT WE ARE RECOVERING THANKS TO OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR PARTNERS. SO THANK YOU TO ALL FOR ALL THE EFFORTS AND PLEASE CONTINUE TO KEEP EVERYONE AFFECTED BY THIS DISASTER AND YOUR PRAYERS. AND LET’S MOVE FORWARD AS WE GO ALONG. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BALTIMORE CITY MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT. GOOD MORNING. THIS MORNING. I AM GRATEFUL GRATEFUL TO BE HERE THIS MORNING SURROUNDED BY SO MANY INDIVIDUALS WHO MADE UP THE ORIGINAL TEAM THAT RESPONDED TO THIS UNTHINKABLE TRAGEDY. AND WHEN I THINK OF THAT TEAM OF MR. GOVERNOR, I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO YOU, TO THE ADMIRAL, TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON. BECAUSE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT WE WERE FACING THAT MORNING, I WOULD NOT GO INTO ANY BATTLE WITH ANY TEAM OTHER THAN THE ONE WE WENT THROUGH, BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL GAVE THEIR HEART FOR THESE FAMILIES, FOR OUR CITY, FOR OUR STATE AND OUR REGION. SO THANK YOU EVERYONE. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME THIS MORNING TO NOT BE REFLECTIVE OF THE MOMENT THAT I RECEIVE OF THAT FIRST CALL FROM OUR FIRE CHIEF, JAMES WALLACE, WHO EXPLAINED THE SITUATION AS HIS TEAM WAS ALREADY BEING DISPATCHED AS SOME OF THE FIRST ON THE SCENE. I WANT TO THANK EVERY FIRST RESPONDER FROM EVERY AGENCY, FROM EVERY BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT FOR YOUR BRAVERY AND YOUR WORK, AND SOME OF THE MOST CHALLENGING CONDITIONS THAT ANYONE HAS EVER SEEN OR WORKED IN, IN THAT MOMENT. I ONCE HAD HIM REPEAT HIMSELF TO ENSURE THAT I GOT IT RIGHT, AND WE BOTH KNEW AT THAT VERY MOMENT THAT OUR CITY AND OUR STATE WILL BE WAKING UP TO A VERY DIFFERENT REALITY THAN WHEN THE SUN SET A FEW HOURS BEFORE. AS WE SPENT THOSE FIRST FEW MINUTES AND HOURS TOGETHER ACROSS THE WATER FROM HERE AT FORT ARMISTEAD, PARK CITY, STATE AND FEDERAL TEAMS WERE ALREADY COMING TOGETHER. EVERYONE WORKING IN THOSE ON THE SCENE SHARED THAT SAME PRIORITY. THOSE MEN THAT WE LOST IN THE WATER. SADLY, THAT DAY, I HAD TO REMIND FAR TOO MANY CASUAL OBSERVERS THAT THAT’S WHERE OUR FOCUS WAS AND WHERE IT SHOULD REMAIN. BUT I NEVER HAD TO REMIND THOSE WHO WERE ON THE GROUND RISKING THEIR OWN LIVES AND HEALTH TO BRING HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES. ALEJANDRO DORIAN MAYNOR CARLOS MIGUEL AND JOSE FAMILIES. WE MADE THE COMMITMENT THEN THAT THIS CITY AND STATE WOULD WRAP OUR ARMS AROUND YOU AND STAND ALONGSIDE YOU AND PROVIDE WHATEVER SUPPORT YOU NEEDED FOR HOWEVER LONG YOU MAY NEED IT. WE STAND BY THAT COMMITMENT TODAY, AND I’M HONORED THAT WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO GRIEVE TOGETHER. AS WE REMEMBER THE MEN, THEY WERE NOT JUST THE THING THAT HAPPENED TO THEM. WHILE THIS THANK YOU. WHILE THIS DAY IS A DAY OF MOURNING, IT IS NOT A DAY OF GRIEF ALONE. IT IS A DAY TO COMMEMORATE THE STRENGTH, RESILIENCE AND THAT BALTIMORE GRIT THAT WE SHOWED THE WORLD IN THAT MOMENT. SO MANY TIMES IN BALTIMORE’S HISTORY, WE FACE SETBACKS OR WHAT SOME SAY WERE INSURMOUNTABLE CHALLENGES. BUT EVERY SINGLE TIME IN OUR HISTORY, WE’VE OVERCOME THOSE CHALLENGES. WITHOUT A DOUBT, THE PARTNERSHIP THAT HELPED US NAVIGATE THROUGH THIS CRISIS, OF THIS BRIDGE COLLAPSE WAS YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE. IN A LONG LIST OF EXAMPLES OF HOW STRONG WE CAN BE WHEN COLLECTIVE ACTION BRINGS US TOGETHER. WHAT I SAW IN THE MINUTES, HOURS, DAYS, AND WEEKS FOLLOWING THE BRIDGE COLLAPSE WAS AN ENTIRE COUNTRY UNIFIED IN UNDERSTANDING AND IN ACTION. THAT IS A UNITY THAT IS ALL TOO RARE TODAY, AND I ALWAYS WILL BE EMPOWERED KNOWING THAT WE STILL HAVE THE CAPACITY TO COME TOGETHER THAT WAY. AS WE LOOK TOWARDS THE FUTURE, A BRIGHT ONE FILLED WITH PROGRESS FOR OUR CITY, A NEW BRIDGE TO RESHAPE OUR SKYLINE, AND A STRONG PORT TO CONTINUE OUR CENTURIES LONG TRADITION. THE MEMORY OF THOSE MARYLANDERS WE LOST, AND THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE STILL HAVE THE CAPACITY TO COME TOGETHER TO FIGHT FOR ONE ANOTHER, IS WHAT I WILL CARRY WITH ME MORE THAN ANYTHING. SO THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PLAYED A ROLE. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO RALLIED FOR THESE FAMILIES IN THEIR MOST DEVASTATING MOMENT. THANK YOU TO THE COMMUNITIES WHO CAME TOGETHER TO KEEP EACH OTHER AFLOAT. WHEN LIVELIHOODS WERE AT STAKE. THANK YOU TO EVERY FIRST RESPONDER AND SALVAGE WORKER AND ENGINEER WHO RISKED THEIR OWN SAFETY FOR ALL OF US. AND THANK YOU TO THE LEADERS WHO HAD THE VISION AND THE HUMILITY TO PRIORITIZE THE THINGS THAT MATTER. EVERY PART OF THIS MASSIVE MACHINE THAT MOBILIZED AFTER THIS TRAGEDY HELPED THE GRIT, CHARM AND GREATNESS OF BALTIMORE SHINE THROUGH TO THE WORLD ONCE AGAIN. YOU PROVE WE HAVE ALL PROVED TOGETHER THAT BALTIMORE IS ALWAYS SAFE TO BET ON. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY EXECUTIVE STUART PITTMAN. GOOD MORNING. I REPRESENT THE 600,000 PEOPLE WHO LIVE ACROSS THE BRIDGE TO THE SOUTH ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, WHOSE NORTH COUNTY NEIGHBORHOODS BEGAN TO TRULY THRIVE WHEN THE KEY BRIDGE WAS BUILT. AND THEY COULD GET TO THE JOBS, THE STEEL MILL AND THE PORT OF BALTIMORE. I WILL NEVER FORGET THE PHONE CALLS THAT NIGHT. FIRST, FROM MY FRIEND, MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT, THEN FROM MY FRIEND GOVERNOR WES MOORE, AND FROM MY FRIEND, COUNTY EXECUTIVE JOHNNY OLSZEWSKI, AND THEN OUR FIRE CHIEF, TRICIA WOLFORD, WHOSE DIVERS WERE IN ROUTE ALREADY THAT NIGHT. AND THEN OUR POLICE CHIEF, AMAL AWAD, WHO WAS AT THE SITE WITH OUR NORTHERN DISTRICT COMMANDER AND OUR HOMELAND SECURITY TEAM, AND OF COURSE, OUR CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, WHO DOES NOT SEEM TO SLEEP. I MOSTLY TRIED TO STAY OUT OF THE WAY AS GOVERNOR MOORE STEPPED UP AND SHOWED THE WORLD THAT GOVERNMENT WORKS. THE COAST GUARD, ARMY CORPS, STATE TRANSPORTATION, STATE POLICE, ALL OF THE PUBLIC SERVANTS AT THE FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS CAN DO SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE THINGS TOGETHER TO FIND AND BRING HOME TO THE FAMILIES THE BODIES OF BELOVED MEN WHO ARE WORKING TO IMPROVE THE BRIDGE THAT WE DEPEND ON AND TO CLEAR THE CHANNEL FASTER THAN ANYONE THOUGHT POSSIBLE SO THAT INTERNATIONAL TRADE COULD RESUME AT THE PORT OF BALTIMORE. I TOOK PRIDE IN THE WAY THAT OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT TEAM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM, AND SOCIAL SECURITY AGENCY STEPPED UP TO SERVE COUNTY RESIDENTS WHOSE LIVELIHOODS WERE THREATENED BY CLOSURE OF THE PORT AND THE LOSS OF THE BRIDGE. BUT THE GREATEST IMPACT, THE PART THAT MOVED ME PERSONALLY AND THAT SPOKE TO OUR COUNTY, OUR REGION, OUR STATE AND OUR COUNTRY AND THE WORLD WAS WHO IT WAS, WHO IT WAS THAT WAS WORKING THAT NIGHT, WHO IT WAS THAT WAS TENDING THE BRIDGE, THE BRIDGE OVER OUR RIVER, WHO IT WAS DOING WORK THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE, WORK THAT MOST OF US LACK THE SKILL AND THE DRIVE TO DO. IT WAS MEN FROM EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS AND MEXICO. EACH ONE OF THEM HAD CROSSED OUR SOUTHERN BORDER LOOKING FOR A BETTER LIFE FOR THEIR FAMILIES. EACH ONE OF THEM WAS ON THAT BRIDGE, MAKING LIFE BETTER FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE, BETTER FOR MARYLANDERS, BETTER FOR AMERICANS. THEY DIDN’T CHOOSE TO SACRIFICE THEIR LIVES FOR OUR COUNTRY, FOR OUR BRIDGE, BUT OUR COUNTRY NOTICED THAT THEY DID. OUR COUNTRY NEEDED TO SEE THAT MIGUEL ANGEL LUNA LIVED IN GLEN BURNIE, IN THE NORTHERN PART OF ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY. HIS EXTRAORDINARY WIFE, MARIA DEL CARMEN, RUNS A SMALL BUSINESS SELLING DELICIOUS FOOD OUT OF A FOOD TRUCK. SALVADORAN FOOD I SPENT MAY 11TH LAST YEAR AT MIGUEL’S MEMORIAL SERVICE AND BURIAL. I FELT THE LOVE AND THE STRENGTH OF LOS SALVADORENOS QUÉ VIVEN EN NUESTRO CONDADO? THEIR CULTURE, THEIR COMMUNITY, THEIR LOVE MAKES US STRONGER. YO QUIERO DECIR A TODAS LAS FAMILIAS. QUÉ ESTA AQUI? HOY TE QUEREMOS AQUI DE NUESTRA COMUNIDAD. SEA MEJOR Y TAMBIÉN EL PUEBLO UNIDO JAMAS SERA VENCIDO.
Baltimore marks one year since deadly Key Bridge collapse as long road to recovery remains
Updated: 11:54 AM EDT Mar 26, 2025
A year after the catastrophic collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland leaders are honoring the six construction workers who were killed that night when the road they were repairing buckled underneath them.While police were able to stop traffic in the moments before a massive cargo ship plowed into the bridge, they didn’t have time to alert the overnight roadwork crew.“Everyone working on the scene shared that same priority — those men we lost in the water,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said during an anniversary ceremony Wednesday morning, recalling the horrific minutes and hours after the collapse.“While this day is a day of mourning, it is not a day of grief alone,” Scott said. “It is a day to commemorate the strength, resilience and that Baltimore grit that we showed the world in that moment.”On Tuesday, the Key Bridge Collapse victims’ families, Scott, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and several other leaders rode a fireboat out to the site of the collapse to honor the lives lost and reflect on all that has happened in the moments, days and weeks that followed the collapse.Six wreaths were laid in the water — honoring each of the victims who lost their lives when the bridge went down.They include 26-year-old Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 49-year-old Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, 35-year-old Jose Mynor Lopez, 38-year-old Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 24-year-old Carlos Dorlian, and 35-year-old Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes. They were husbands, fathers, brothers, sons and friends.After the wreaths were laid, there was a prayer followed by a moment of silence. Afterwards, Scott called it a heavy situation while Moore said it’s one that doesn’t get easier or simpler.Video above: Statement from the fallen construction workers’ families”For those families in particular, it’s going to be an ongoing, lifelong thing. You never truly heal from something like that, and that’s why we have to continue to be there to support them. I think that it’s a different feel than it was last year. Last year, it was a feel of hopelessness. They know that they’re loved and supported, but this is never going to be easy for them. They’re never going to get their loved one back,” Scott said.”There is no place that’s more appropriate to commemorate the anniversary of one of the most traumatic moments in our state’s history than to be out here with the families, to be out here with so many of the first responders and the teams, to understand that there were six Marylanders that we lost that day. And everything that has happened in that past year, it starts and ends with them,” Moore said. A new bridge in the worksOfficials say the new bridge should be finished sometime in 2028.They unveiled designs last month for what will become Maryland’s first cable-stayed bridge. It could cost upwards of $1.7 billion but Congress has agreed to cover the full price tag for rebuilding.Crews have been conducting soil testing and other work to finalize the designs. They plan to demolish the remaining pieces of the Key Bridge this spring.Officials have said the designs will include the latest in pier protection technology, which has become increasingly important as cargo ships continue to get bigger and carry more cargo. The bridge will also be taller to provide more clearance.Baltimore’s port reboundsLast month, the port announced that 2024 ended up being one of its most productive years — with 45.9 million tons of cargo passing through its facilities — second only to the year before, which saw a record 52.3 million tons.The port also processed more farm and construction machinery than any other port in the country again in 2024. It ranked second for cars and light trucks, officials said.Daraius Irani, chief economist for the Regional Economic Studies Institute at Towson University, described the rebound as “sort of a miracle.”But he said the potential impacts of the Trump administration’s tariffs present an ominous cloud, especially because roughly a quarter of the port’s total imports come from Mexico, Canada and China. Tariffs could mean fewer goods will pass through the port, which would lead to reduced revenue, Irani said.Ongoing federal investigationsThe National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating what caused the collapse, said its final report could be released in fall 2025.Meanwhile, the board issued urgent safety recommendations last week, telling bridge owners to conduct vulnerability assessments. The recommendations apply to 30 owners of 68 bridges across 19 states.The board is still investigating what caused the cargo ship Dali to lose power as it approached the Key Bridge. In an earlier update, investigators said they discovered a loose cable that could have caused electrical issues on the Dali. The ship experienced blackouts twice in the hours before it left the Port of Baltimore en route to Sri Lanka.The FBI also opened a criminal investigation into the circumstances leading up to the collapse but haven’t yet provided any updates.
A year after the catastrophic collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland leaders are honoring the six construction workers who were killed that night when the road they were repairing buckled underneath them.
While police were able to stop traffic in the moments before a massive cargo ship plowed into the bridge, they didn’t have time to alert the overnight roadwork crew.
“Everyone working on the scene shared that same priority — those men we lost in the water,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said during an anniversary ceremony Wednesday morning, recalling the horrific minutes and hours after the collapse.
“While this day is a day of mourning, it is not a day of grief alone,” Scott said. “It is a day to commemorate the strength, resilience and that Baltimore grit that we showed the world in that moment.”
On Tuesday, the Key Bridge Collapse victims’ families, Scott, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and several other leaders rode a fireboat out to the site of the collapse to honor the lives lost and reflect on all that has happened in the moments, days and weeks that followed the collapse.
Six wreaths were laid in the water — honoring each of the victims who lost their lives when the bridge went down.
They include 26-year-old Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 49-year-old Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, 35-year-old Jose Mynor Lopez, 38-year-old Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 24-year-old Carlos Dorlian, and 35-year-old Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes. They were husbands, fathers, brothers, sons and friends.
After the wreaths were laid, there was a prayer followed by a moment of silence. Afterwards, Scott called it a heavy situation while Moore said it’s one that doesn’t get easier or simpler.
Video above: Statement from the fallen construction workers’ families
“For those families in particular, it’s going to be an ongoing, lifelong thing. You never truly heal from something like that, and that’s why we have to continue to be there to support them. I think that it’s a different feel than it was last year. Last year, it was a feel of hopelessness. They know that they’re loved and supported, but this is never going to be easy for them. They’re never going to get their loved one back,” Scott said.
“There is no place that’s more appropriate to commemorate the anniversary of one of the most traumatic moments in our state’s history than to be out here with the families, to be out here with so many of the first responders and the teams, to understand that there were six Marylanders that we lost that day. And everything that has happened in that past year, it starts and ends with them,” Moore said.
A new bridge in the works
Officials say the new bridge should be finished sometime in 2028.
They unveiled designs last month for what will become Maryland’s first cable-stayed bridge. It could cost upwards of $1.7 billion but Congress has agreed to cover the full price tag for rebuilding.
Crews have been conducting soil testing and other work to finalize the designs. They plan to demolish the remaining pieces of the Key Bridge this spring.
Officials have said the designs will include the latest in pier protection technology, which has become increasingly important as cargo ships continue to get bigger and carry more cargo. The bridge will also be taller to provide more clearance.
Baltimore’s port rebounds
Last month, the port announced that 2024 ended up being one of its most productive years — with 45.9 million tons of cargo passing through its facilities — second only to the year before, which saw a record 52.3 million tons.
The port also processed more farm and construction machinery than any other port in the country again in 2024. It ranked second for cars and light trucks, officials said.
Daraius Irani, chief economist for the Regional Economic Studies Institute at Towson University, described the rebound as “sort of a miracle.”
But he said the potential impacts of the Trump administration’s tariffs present an ominous cloud, especially because roughly a quarter of the port’s total imports come from Mexico, Canada and China. Tariffs could mean fewer goods will pass through the port, which would lead to reduced revenue, Irani said.
Ongoing federal investigations
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating what caused the collapse, said its final report could be released in fall 2025.
Meanwhile, the board issued urgent safety recommendations last week, telling bridge owners to conduct vulnerability assessments. The recommendations apply to 30 owners of 68 bridges across 19 states.
The board is still investigating what caused the cargo ship Dali to lose power as it approached the Key Bridge. In an earlier update, investigators said they discovered a loose cable that could have caused electrical issues on the Dali. The ship experienced blackouts twice in the hours before it left the Port of Baltimore en route to Sri Lanka.
The FBI also opened a criminal investigation into the circumstances leading up to the collapse but haven’t yet provided any updates.
