Baltimore wants Dali owner pay the bill for Key Bridge: how much to repair?

Baltimore is locked in a dispute over who should foot the bill for repairs to the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a vital artery connecting the city. The city blames the “Dali,” a massive cargo ship, for causing significant damage during a collision last month, arguing that the ship’s owner should be held liable for the repairs.

Mayor Brandon Scott and the City Council suing the owner and the manager of the Dali, though both companies, Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, filed a petition asking for a ceiling on their liability. They want to be held for a maximum of $43.6 million in damages, less than half of what even the ship is worth.

Determining fault and reaching a financial resolution will take a long time, leaving Baltimore with a crucial bridge in need of repair and the burden of potentially taxpayer-funded fixes.

How much will it cost to reconstruct the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore?

According to official numbers, the construction of the bridge in 1977 cost $60 million, which is equivalent to about $300 million after factoring in inflation. However, reconstruction “could cost 10 times more,” that is, close to $600 million, according to engineer David MacKenzie speaking to NBC News.

CNN has reported that insurance claims from the crash could be as high as $3 billion.

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“This claim has the potential to be north of a billion dollars,” said John Miklus, the president of the American Institute of Marine Underwriters. “Litigation will run years.”

The bridge repair could cost $1.2 billion.