Baltimore bridge task force scrambles to open temporary shipping channel

April 1 (UPI) -- Authorities working to clear the wreckage of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore hope to be able to resume limited river traffic for priority vessels via a temporary channel.

The channel to the northeast of the blocked main passage for "commercial essential vessels" will be lit by government navigation aids with a controlling depth of 11 feet, a 264-foot horizontal clearance and 96 feet height clearance, Unified Command said Sunday in a news release.

"This will mark an important first step along the road to reopening the port of Baltimore," said Coast Guard Capt. David O'Connell, federal on-scene coordinator of the Key Bridge Response 2024.

"By opening this alternate route, we will support the flow of marine traffic into Baltimore," O'Connell added, without stating when the channel would be ready.

The move is part of a phased approach to reopening the main channel to and from the city's container, cargo and cruise terminals, which have been cut off since Tuesday, when the bridge was brought down in the middle of the night by a container ship, killing six people.

The bodies of two of the victims have been recovered, with four missing and presumed dead, officials said.

A 2,000-yard safety exclusion zone aimed at protecting personnel, vessels and the marine environment remains in force around the bridge. Entry is strictly by the authority of the captain of the port or his designated representative.

On Friday, the local FBI office in a statement declared the airspace around the wrecked bridge a "no drone zone" after the Federal Aviation Administration implemented a temporary flight restriction out to a three-mile radius and to a height of 1,500 feet.

Workers began clearing parts of what's left of the bridge Sunday with a 200-ton section removed from an extensive debris field completely blocking ingress and egress to the country's ninth-largest port.

That still leaves a huge amount of twisted metal and concrete to cut up and lift from the Patapsco River, as well as dealing with the crippled 100,000-ton container ship, Dali, which is wedged under the remnants of the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.

"We're talking about huge pieces. I mean, just sitting on the Dali, you're looking at 3,000 or 4,000 tons of steel sitting on top of the ship."

The key artery of commerce, through which nearly $200 million in cargo normally passes daily, could remain shut for as much as a month.

The joint command established to investigate and deal with the accident comprises the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland State Police and representatives of the owner and operator of Dali.