President Biden showed support for Baltimore on Friday Collapse of the Francis Scott Key BridgeAnnounces additional federal financial assistance to boost city's economy and trade.
The president surveyed the devastation from his helicopter, Marine One, before receiving a briefing from local officials Friday afternoon. The bridge collapsed on March 26 when the Singaporean-flagged container ship Dally collided with one of the bridge's main supports. Six people working on the bridge fell into the Patapsco River below and died. Mr. Biden is Meeting with their families Friday.
“I'm here to mourn with you,” the president told Baltimore residents near the bridge's site.
He announced the first tranche of subsidies for displaced workers to help them replace jobs affected by the recession. The federal government will provide $8 million in grant funding for infrastructure improvements at Sparrows Point, the only port not affected by the collapse. The President said that through this the port can get more ships. He also urged businesses to keep workers in the area on their payroll. The entire channel will be reopened by the end of May, Mr. Biden said.
“We're coming back. We're coming back soon,” the president promised, adding that “the government is going to move heaven and earth to rebuild this bridge as quickly as humanly possible.”
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Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, thanked Mr Biden for his support.
“We get knocked down, we get back up, dust ourselves off, and we move forward,” Moore said as he stood next to the president. “That's what we're doing. The people — and the people of Maryland — are grateful to have President Biden as a full partner in this mission.”
“President Biden may not be a born Marylander, but I'm telling you, he's proven that Maryland is tough and Baltimore is strong,” Moore said.
Manuel Pals Seneta / AB
At a presidential briefing in Baltimore, Brigadier General John Lloyd of the US Army Corps of Engineers described the situation as a “blurred mess” underwater. A 3D underwater scan of the wreckage and wreckage was shown to the President.
Mr. Biden says Central Govt to pay Congress must approve the full cost of the bridge's reconstruction.
It's still unclear what that would cost, and some Republicans have expressed opposition to the federal government bringing in the bill. The Biden administration has approved $60 million in immediate aid to clean up the wreckage.
“It is my vow that we will not rest until the cement is dry across the new bridge,” the president said Friday.
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young on Friday Wrote to Congress It also called on lawmakers to approve “a 100 percent federal cost share to rebuild the bridge.” He reminded them that “Congress acted bipartisanly within days” to provide similar funding after the 2007 I-35W bridge collapse in Minnesota.
Next Tuesday, Maryland's congressional delegation will meet with Gov. Wes Moore and Young on Tuesday. Baltimore Emergency Fund And its answer the bridge Decline.
A second temporary channel opened this week for some water traffic, but rebuilding the bridge, a major artery for the city, state and Northeast Corridor, will take years. The collapse of the bridge is also a drag on the local economy. About 35,000 cars cross the bridge each day, and those commuters now have to navigate longer and more congested routes.
