DUNDALK, Md. — Thursday marks two years since the Key Bridge collapse, and trucks diverted through neighborhoods have been tearing up the roads ever since.
“Streets look terrible nowadays," said Tony Krause, who drives in the area often. "I know we had a pretty bad winter, but we had a lot of potholes and things aren’t looking any better right now.”
Baltimore County seeks $4 million for Dundalk roads damaged by diverted Key Bridge truck traffic
Baltimore County submitted a proposal to the state seeking funding to repave roads, including $4 million for the Dundalk area.
"So we’re working with the state to get some money out of the federal government to repair those roads in conjunction with the work that’s being done on the bridge. So we submitted our package to the state, the state submitted it to the feds, we’re waiting to hear back," said Lauren Buckler, Director of Public Works and Transportation for Baltimore County.
The county tracks potholes and rates roads on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being good and 0 being bad. When roads experience heavy truck traffic, ratings can drop 5 to 10 points per year. For example, the rating on parts of Dundalk Ave is in the 50s.
"These numbers have gone down, and they’ve decreased faster than we would’ve expected," Buckler said.
Protecting neighborhoods near the Key Bridge is something the state is keeping in mind as well.
"Not only taking a look at what impacts inside the gate, it’s looking at our external transportation to make sure the work that we’re doing evolves with the community and does not overwhelm the community," Maryland Port Administration Executive Director Jonathan Daniels said.
That includes switching to electric equipment for bridge repairs to reduce emissions.
Road funding has been down for years, per Buckler, also contributing to the problem. While waiting for a response from the federal government about repaving, Buckler said residents should let the county know about potholes.
"We've got over 9,000 roads, and we can't be on every one every day, but you guys are, all the residents are, so let us know, 311 or BaltCoGo app, and we'll get out there and fill that pothole," Buckler said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
