Baltimore bridge collapse one year later; those killed remembered

It has been one year since six men lost their lives when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Baltimore, Maryland.

The bridge crashed into the water after the container ship Dali lost power and hit one of the span’s support columns.

A road crew had been working on the street that crossed the bridge, filling potholes. They all fell into the frigid water. It could have been much worse. Moments before the collapse, police had stopped traffic, but sadly, the crew didn’t get the message to get off the bridge in time.

Family members of the men killed participated in a wreath laying ceremony at the mouth of the Patapsco River, where the bridge once stood and where the crew lost their lives, while, as Det. Aaron Jackson said, they had been “just doing their job” when they died.

Jackson helped recover the men’s bodies.

Debris from the collapse blocked the Port of Baltimore for months. While the channel reopened 11 weeks after the incident, the bridge that connected the north and south areas of the Charm City has not been rebuilt, forcing traffic to use alternate routes through downtown.

The new bridge could be completed in 2028. The design of the span was unveiled last month and could cost as much as $1.7 billion.

The remaining pieces of the Key Bridge are expected to be demolished this spring to make way for the new bridge.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating and recently told officials in 19 states that they need to check the vulnerability of 68 bridges.

The final report on the Key Bridge collapse could be released this fall as the NTSB still tries to determine why the Dali lost power. The FBI also opened a criminal investigation, but there haven’t been any updates.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and the state’s transportation authority blame the owner and operator of the Dali, saying that Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Group were the “sole fault” for the deadly collapse.

But, The Washington Post found that there were other issues at play, including the prohibition of cellphone use at the job site and no radios or walkie-talkies either. Meaning that the crew could not have been directly alerted in a case of emergency.

Family members, who are suing the owners of the Dali, are calling for more protection for those who work for construction companies.

© 2025 Cox Media Group