Limited access at Baltimore port to open within 4 weeks, USACE says

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) expects to open a limited access channel at the Port of Baltimore within the next four weeks and a permanent navigation channel by the end of May.

USACE officials said in a press release that a limited access channel, 280 feet wide and 35 feet deep, would open at the port by the end of April. This channel would support one-way traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore for barge container service and some roll on/roll off vessels that move automobiles and farm equipment to and from the port, they said.

USACE engineers are aiming to reopen the permanent, 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep federal navigation channel by the end of May, restoring port access to normal capacity.

The USACE’s announcement follows detailed studies and engineering assessments by local, state and federal organizations, in collaboration with industry partners. The USACE has been working with local, state and federal partners to clear the wreckage along the Fort McHenry Channel following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26. The port has been closed since then.

Two Class Is — CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway — serve the port.