Governor, Mayor attend Orioles game: "It's still a solemn day"

BALTIMORE — It was a day of mixed emotions at Opening Day. While everyone was excited to have baseball back in Baltimore, the tragedy we witnessed this week with the collapse of the Key Bridge was at the back of people's minds.

The victims were honored right before the performance of the Star-Spangled Banner with a moment of silence.

"It's sad but it brings people together. You really appreciate what you have,” Jeanne Gobel said.

"When we listened to the new owners talking earlier, they stopped and talked about it, and it's just so nice that they get Baltimore. They understand that we love our people. We're a big community,” Gobel’s daughter, Bethann Hutcheson said.

"It's on everyone's minds and hearts and we have to remember,” Barbara Maranto said.

"We've never encountered anything like that here. So it's a very sad thing. But Baltimore will rebuild,” Johnathan Hamburger said.

That was the message from Mayor Scott as well, who spoke one-on-one to WMAR-2 News outside the ballpark.

​"It's still a solemn day for me," Scott said. "We know that sporting events often bring us together in times like this and moments like this to provide extra love, and we know that'll happen here today. We're excited about the baseball season and what the Orioles are gonna accomplish but we're always gonna let folks know we're still focused on those families, making sure we can get the channel back open."

Governor Moore was also in attendance for part of the game. He also spoke during a press conference this morning with the team's new ownership.

​"There is and there is going to be, a true full evaluation, not just of that [bridge], but all of our key infrastructure that we have all around Maryland. This is something that happens consistently in our state but what happened with the Key Bridge was an important reminder of the work and the task ahead."​

During our interview with Mayor Scott, we asked about the timeline to reopen the port.

"It's not going to be a quick thing. They will move as quickly as possible, but safely and responsibly as well. Now, they have to do the salvage work; they have to get all that debris, all of that stuff out of there. The ship has to get out of there. That's not going to be easy work, and they have to make sure that the channel itself and everything is right even after that. So that work is going to be going on for some time," Scott said. 

WMAR-2 News asked if the Mayor can assure Baltimoreans the work will move as quickly as possible without any bureaucratic red tape getting in the way.

"Listen, we heard this from everybody. And I couldn't say it better than my President. Heaven and Earth will be moved to get this open and get it redone," Scott said. 

We also asked what the plan is for traffic before the bridge is rebuilt.

"Folks are gonna have to, number one, be patient. The folks that are used to taking that bridge are going to have to either go around 695 either way, or use 895 or the 95 tunnels, more traffic on 83. But that means those roads are gonna have more people on that we're used to. Everybody has to understand that and be patient and remember, whenever you're in traffic and feeling frustrated, remember the people that lost their lives and understand that we might have to adjust. You might have to leave early. If you can adjust your work schedule to not have to travel directly during rush hour, please do that, because we're gonna have to be dealing with this for some time."

As for how the victims' families are doing, Mayor Scott said he spoke to one family last night. 

"They're doing as good as you as you can be. But they are obviously deeply hurt, deeply saddened and thinking about the loss of life but also thinking about how they're going to move forward as a family but they heard from me directly, that we'll be here to support them. Not just today, not just tomorrow, long after all the other outside cameras have gone, and it's just you guys locally, we'll be here to support them throughout the duration as they continue to try to heal for the rest of their lives."

Both the Mayor and Governor were on the field as the members of the Maryland Transportation Authority who are credited with saving lives by stopping traffic on the Key Bridge were honored.