Francis Scott Key Bridge (Baltimore)

This article is about the collapsed bridge in Baltimore built in 1977. For other articles, see Key Bridge (disambiguation).
Francis Scott Key Bridge
View from Fort Armistead Park in 2015
Coordinates39°13′1″N 76°31′42″W / 39.21694°N 76.52833°W / 39.21694; -76.52833
Carried4 lanes of
I-695 Toll
CrossedPatapsco River
LocaleBaltimore metropolitan area, Maryland, U.S.
Maintained byMaryland Transportation Authority
ID number300000BCZ472010
Websitemdta.maryland.gov/Toll_Facilities/FSK.html
Characteristics
DesignSteel arch-shaped continuous through truss bridge
MaterialSteel
Total length8,636 feet (2,632.3 m; 1.6 mi)
Longest span1,200 feet (366 m)
Clearance below185 feet (56 m)[1]
History
DesignerJ. E. Greiner Company[2]
Construction start1972; 52 years ago (1972)[3]
OpenedMarch 23, 1977; 47 years ago (1977-03-23)
CollapsedMarch 26, 2024; 7 months ago (2024-03-26)
Statistics
Toll$4 (suspended)[4]
Location
Map
The Francis Scott Key Bridge under construction in 1976
Sign for the Key Bridge used on approach roads

The Francis Scott Key Bridge (informally, Key Bridge or Beltway Bridge) is a partially collapsed bridge in the Baltimore metropolitan area, Maryland. Opened in 1977, it collapsed on March 26, 2024, after a container ship struck one of its piers.[5][6] Officials have announced plans to replace the bridge by fall 2028.[7]

It was built as a steel arch continuous through truss bridge that spanned the lower Patapsco River and outer Baltimore Harbor/Port in Maryland, United States. Opened on March 23, 1977, it carried the Baltimore Beltway (Interstate 695 or I-695) between Dundalk in Baltimore County and Hawkins Point, an isolated southern neighborhood of Baltimore, while briefly passing through Anne Arundel County.

Initially named the Outer Harbor Crossing, the bridge was renamed in 1976 for poet Francis Scott Key, who wrote the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner", the U.S. national anthem. At 8,636 feet (2,632 m), it was the second-longest bridge in the Baltimore metropolitan area, after the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Its main span of 1,200 feet (366 m) was the third-longest of any continuous truss in the world.[8]

Operated by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), the bridge was the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore's harbor, along with the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels. The bridge carried an estimated 11.5 million vehicles annually, including many trucks carrying hazardous materials that are prohibited in the tunnels. The construction of the bridge and its approaches completed the two-decade effort to build I-695, although the bridge roadway was officially a state road: the unsigned Maryland Route 695.[9][10]

  1. ^ "What do we know about Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge?". Reuters. March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  2. ^ "This Day in Maryland History: Francis Scott Key Bridge Opens in 1977". Preservation Maryland. March 26, 2024. Archived from the original on March 27, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  3. ^ Francis Scott Key Bridge at Structurae
  4. ^ Clark, Tommie (August 29, 2024). "Firm chosen to proceed with plans to rebuild Key Bridge". WBAL. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  5. ^ "Live updates: Rescuers search for people in the water after Baltimore's Key Bridge collapses". Washington Post. March 26, 2024. Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  6. ^ "Ship strikes major Baltimore bridge causing partial collapse". ABC News. Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  7. ^ Witte, Brian (May 2, 2024). "Maryland officials release timeline, cost estimate, for rebuilding bridge". Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  8. ^ Durkee, Jackson, World's Longest Bridge Spans Archived October 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, National Steel Bridge Alliance, May 24, 1999.
  9. ^ Maryland State Highway Administration (2007). "Highway Location Reference: Baltimore County" (PDF). Retrieved April 15, 2009. [dead link]
  10. ^ Maryland State Highway Administration (2005). "Highway Location Reference: Baltimore City" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2009.