Federal officials are preparing to unveil the initial findings of their probe into the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse that claimed six lives and paralyzed Baltimore’s port last week.
The report could be released within days, people knowledgeable about the matter, who pleaded anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose details of the investigations, told news sources.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, but remains uncertain what conclusions it will reach.
Officials are examining several factors, including contaminated shipping fuel, which has been linked to significant engine failures, even causing complete engine breakdown. Bunker fuel, used by ships, is under scrutiny due to its complex and relatively shady supply chain, according to a 2018 publication by a Washington-based think tank.
“It is an open industry secret that bunker fuel often contains substances that shouldn’t be in fuel at all,” the report said. “Used motor oil and by-products from the manufacture of plastics, rubber, cosmetics, fertilizers, and even paper goods have been found in the final product, which becomes a witch’s brew of hydrocarbons and additives.”
On Friday, US President Joe Biden is slated to visit Baltimore and tour the city's port and the site of the collapsed bridge. He will meet the families of the deceased, Maryland's Governor Wes Moore, and "state and local officials to get an on-the-ground look at federal response efforts," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told the press on Monday.
She also said that through the unified command, the US Coast Guard is coordinating wreckage removal under the auspices of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the state of Maryland.
“And our focus is reopening the port, making sure that bridge gets rebuilt, making sure that we are there — we are there for the people of Baltimore,” Jean-Pierre stated.
Timeline to Reopen Fort McHenry Channel
After thorough analysis and engineering inspections, the USACE, along with local, state, and federal organizations and industry partners, will grant limited access to the channel 280 feet wide and 35 feet deep at the Port of Baltimore by the end of April. This access will facilitate one-way traffic for barge and container services transporting automobiles and farm equipment.
Also, USACE engineers aim to reopen the permanent, 700 ft wide by 50 ft deep federal navigation channel by the end of May, restoring port access to normal capacity.
State of US Infrastructure
Despite the pressing challenges posed by the US' crumbling infrastructure and the resultant economic strains, it has prioritized funneling substantial funds to its proxy war in Ukraine and stoking geopolitical tensions in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions.
This perceived waste of taxpayer's money has drawn criticism for its neglect of domestic infrastructure needs.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), in their 2021 report, graded US infrastructure a C-, up from a D+ in 2017 – the nation’s highest grade in 20 years.
The industry group projected an “infrastructure investment gap” of roughly $2.6 trillion this decade, which, if unattended, could cost America $10 trillion in GDP loss by 2039.
US infrastructure performance abysmally falls behind that of other developed countries. The quality of its infrastructure has been plummeting over the past 20 years, according to a US think tank publication.
International airport rankings published by Skytrax 2023, an aviation research company, revealed that only five US international airports made it to the top 50 globally, with the highest ranking, Seattle-Tacome, occupying a distant 18th place.