Biden Requests DOT Emergency Funding for Baltimore Bridge Rebuild
The money would come from Biden’s $8 billion request for USDOT emergency relief, including money for Hurricanes Helene and Milton...
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In a recent letter to Congress requesting $100 billion in emergency disaster relief funding, President Joe Biden has asked for U.S. Department of Transportation funds to finance 100% of the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild.
The money would come from Biden’s proposed $8 billion cash injection of the DOT’s Emergency Relief Fund, which would go toward rebuilding federal-aid highways and federal roads in over 40 states and territories that have been damaged by natural disasters, with Hurricane Helene and Milton mentioned specifically. This DOT funding would also apply to damage from “catastrophic failures from external causes” and would rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge at 100% federal cost share.
The Maryland DOT has already chosen Kiewit Infrastructure Co. as the contractor for Phase 1 of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge, with work slated to begin in 2025 and finish in 2028.
Biden stated earlier this year he wanted the federal government to completely pay for the rebuild.
The letter to Congress makes several other requests related to the deadly Baltimore bridge collapse, including:
- $33 million for the Corps of Engineers Harbor Maintenance Trust fund to replace funds spent cleaning up the crash’s wreckage.
- $79.5 million for the U.S. Coast Guard related to its response to the disaster, including a surge in personnel and vessel maintenance.
- $150 million for the Department of Labor’s Training and Employment Services, which would also be used in the Dislocated Worker National Reserve to make awards for cleanup and recovery efforts following the collapse.
One federal department has already recouped some funds related to the bridge collapse. A month after it was filed, the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the companies that owned and operated the cargo ship Dali was settled for over $100 million. That money will go to the U.S. Treasury and to the budgets of federal agencies directly affected by the collapse of the Key Bridge or involved in the response, the DOJ says.
Other lawsuits at play related to the bridge collapse include one from the State of Maryland, another from the families of three workers killed in the collapse, another from the contractor who employed those killed workers and one from an inspector who was supervising the bridge work when the crash happened.
