en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) has issued a pre-qualification request to design and build the main span and water approach spans of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, aiming to get the reconstruction of this critical corridor back on track.
With an estimated construction budget of up to $4 billion, this contract is the largest procurement in MDTA's revised strategy. Previously, due to rising costs and extended delivery timelines, the agency decided in April to have design-build contractor Kiewit Infrastructure Co. exit the project to replace the old bridge that collapsed in March 2024, killing six construction workers.
According to the Request for Qualifications (RFQ), due by August 19, the design-build contract calls for a four-lane, 3,365-foot-long bridge with a 1,665-foot-long cable-stayed main span, providing at least 230 feet of clearance over the federal navigation channel on the Patapsco River. The project also includes ship protection systems for the piers supporting the two 602-foot main concrete towers, as well as approximately 660 feet of water approach bridge on the south side and approximately 1,560 feet on the north side.
According to the RFQ, cost is the top priority for the MDTA project, followed by construction sequencing to open the new toll bridge "as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2030," while minimizing disruptions to maritime traffic, the Port of Baltimore, and surrounding communities. Other priorities include ensuring worker safety and using materials, construction, and operations to create "a resilient and aesthetically pleasing bridge" with a design life of at least 100 years.
MDTA plans to shortlist design-build teams by mid-October, with final selection and notice to proceed expected in summer 2027.
The other three parts of the reconstruction—removing the remaining water structure of the original bridge and building the north, south, and land approach spans—will be tendered later this year as design-bid-build contracts, running concurrently with the design-build project. MDTA previously stated that the entire reconstruction could be completed for under $5 billion, a figure far lower than estimates released during the failed negotiations with Kiewit for the second phase of the original progressive design-build procurement.
Kiewit is not eligible to bid on the new design-build contract, nor are most of its subcontractors hired under its initial $73 million Phase 1 contract, which is in its final stages. The scope of Phase 1 included driving permanent 8-foot-diameter, 230-foot-long main span foundation piles near the federal navigation channel and constructing a temporary construction trestle to provide equipment and material access to the main span work area.
In May, the families of the six construction workers killed in the original Key Bridge collapse, along with the sole survivor of the incident, reached confidential settlements with the owners and operators of the container ship MV Dali, which struck the bridge and caused its collapse.
