Cardin gave the update after meeting with the state
congressional delegation and Maryland
Governor Wes Moore on Capitol Hill in Washington.
“We now
have two alternative channels that are open. We have a third channel
that’ll be open this month that will deal with the majority of traffic into the
port of Baltimore. And by the end of May we hope to have the entire channel
reopened,” Cardin
said.
Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland’s lone Republican member of
Congress, appeared with the other lawmakers to join them in expressing support,
saying that “tragedy knows no partisanship.”
“This wasn’t a Republican tragedy. It
wasn’t a Democrat tragedy. And the solution won’t be a partisan solution,” Harris said.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete
Buttigieg and reiterated President Joe Biden’s
pledge to ensure the federal government pays for the new bridge.
It remains unclear how much that cost will be, and it
will depend in large part on the design, Cardin said.