Baltimore channel to partly reopen by end of April

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has announced a tentative timeline to restore safe navigation in and out of the Port of Baltimore. 

PHOTO: Port of Baltimore, US with container cranes on the docks. Getty Images

The USACE will open a 280-feet-wide and 35-feet-deep limited access channel to the Port of Baltimore by the end of April. This will support one-way traffic in and out of the port for barge container services.

It said that the permanent, 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep federal navigation channel will not be reopened until the end of May. This means that port will not be able to operate at normal capacity until at least then. 

“These are ambitious timelines that may still be impacted by significant adverse weather conditions or changes in the complexity of the wreckage,” USACE commanding general Scott A. Spellmon said.

The Port of Baltimore suspended all vessel traffic last month after a section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed when a container ship collided into it.

By Manjula Nair 

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