Francis Scott Key Bridge (Baltimore)
Bridge in Maryland, U.S. (1977–2024) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Francis Scott Key Bridge (informally, Key Bridge or Beltway Bridge) is a partially collapsed bridge in greater Baltimore, Maryland, that is currently in the process of being rebuilt/ replaced. The original bridge opened in 1977. It collapsed on March 26, 2024, after a container ship struck one of its piers.[4][5]
A request that this article title be changed to Francis Scott Key Bridge is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed. |
Francis Scott Key Bridge | |
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Coordinates | 39°13′1″N 76°31′42″W |
Carried | 4 lanes of I-695 Toll / MD 695 |
Crossed | Patapsco River |
Locale | Baltimore metropolitan area, Maryland, U.S. |
Maintained by | Maryland Transportation Authority |
ID number | 300000BCZ472010 |
Website | mdta |
Characteristics | |
Design | Steel arch-shaped continuous through truss bridge |
Material | Steel |
Total length | 8,636 feet (2,632.3 m; 1.6 mi) |
Longest span | 1,200 feet (366 m) |
Clearance below | 185 feet (56 m)[1] |
History | |
Designer | J. E. Greiner Company[2] |
Construction start | 1972; 52 years ago (1972)[3] |
Opened | March 23, 1977; 47 years ago (1977-03-23) |
Collapsed | March 26, 2024; 2 months ago (2024-03-26) |
Statistics | |
Toll | $4.00 |
Location | |
The 1977 bridge was built as a steel arch continuous through truss bridge that spanned the lower Patapsco River and outer Baltimore Harbor/Port in Maryland, United States. Opened on March 23, 1977, it carried the Baltimore Beltway (Interstate 695 or I-695) between Dundalk in Baltimore County and Hawkins Point, an isolated southern neighborhood of Baltimore, while briefly passing through Anne Arundel County.
Initially named the Outer Harbor Crossing, the bridge was renamed in 1976 for poet Francis Scott Key (1779–1843), the author of the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner", the US national anthem. At 8,636 feet (2,632 m), it was the second-longest bridge in the Baltimore metropolitan area, after the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Its main span of 1,200 feet (366 m) was the third-longest of any continuous truss in the world.[6]
Operated by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), the bridge was the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore's harbor, along with the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels. The bridge carried an estimated 11.5 million vehicles annually, including many trucks carrying hazardous materials that are prohibited in the tunnels. The construction of the bridge and its approaches completed the two-decade effort to build I-695, although the bridge roadway was officially a state road: the unsigned Maryland Route 695.[7][8]
Officials plan to replace the bridge by fall 2028.[9]