DUNDALK, M.d. — Changes are on the horizon in the Patapsco river as crews marked another milestone in the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild over the weekend.
WATCH: New phase begins in Key Bridge rebuild
Though, it comes on the heels of a letter sent by Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy about federal funding already promised for the project with concerns about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion contracts and ballooning costs.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore did not address the DEI portion of the letter, but did say in a follow-up statement “[w]e will continue to work with the Trump Administration to find ways to reduce costs and rebuild faster.
Neighbors who live by the site of the collapsed bridge may hear sounds like the distant ring of a large bell.
That would be from crews hammering in steel piles, eight feet in diameter and more than 220 feet long, into the Patapsco riverbed.
The piles were delivered by barge recently.
“All these piles are going to have instrumentation in them. They’re going to give us readings. Once we have the six piles all driven into place we’re going to set a very large load frame on top of those and that’s going to let us get additional measurements,” MDTA Chief Engineer Jim Harkness said.
The test pile work is expected to last another 6 to 8 weeks.
Noise and vibration monitors have already been put in place in neighboring communities like Turner Station, though this latest phase should only last two hours at a time and during daylight hours Monday through Saturday.
A man who went by Porter, lives in Turner Station, and says so far he hasn’t heard much.
Though when he has, crews have been good neighbors. An alert came through on his phone before an explosion during the early phases of demolition.
But even if he does hear more commotion, as someone who’s worked in demolition, he says he understands why it’s needed.
“It’s bigger than me,” he said. “Whether I’m on or off the clock I understand that it’s people that work and put their lives on the line to get the job done.”
The bridge could cost nearly $2 billion, though the final amount has not yet been determined. It’s anticipated to be complete by 2028.