Washington——

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Sunday urged Republicans to work with Democrats to approve the plan as work gets underway to clear thousands of tons of steel debris from a collapsed bridge in the Port of Baltimore.
Federal funding is needed to rebuild the bridge and get the port economy back on its feet.

Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday morning when a container ship nearly the size of the Eiffel Tower lost power and crashed into a support tower, killing six road workers. Most of the bridge fell into the Patapsco River, blocking the navigation channel of Baltimore Harbor.

The Biden administration on Thursday released $60 million in initial emergency aid to help clear bridge debris and reopen the port, the nation’s largest “roll-on, roll-off” vehicle port for importing and exporting equipment for the farm and construction industries. The port has been closed since Tuesday, leaving some 15,000 people who depend on its daily operations out of work.

Federal officials told Maryland lawmakers that the final cost of rebuilding the bridge could soar to at least $2 billion, Roll Call reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
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Democratic President Joe Biden has pledged that the federal government will foot the bill, but that will depend on whether the Republican-led House of Representatives and the Democratic-led Senate pass legislation authorizing funding.divided
Congress has repeatedly been embroiled in partisan bickering over funding, with hard-line Republicans often at loggerheads even with members of their own party.

Moore, a Democrat, said Republicans should be willing to approve the funding, not just for the city of Baltimore but for the national economy.

“We need people to act on a bipartisan basis … not because we need you to do Maryland a favor,” Moore told CNN on Sunday. “We need to make sure that we are actually moving quickly to get the The American economy is moving again because the Port of Baltimore plays an important role in our greater economic growth.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg expressed optimism on Sunday that Congress would approve the money needed for cleanup and reconstruction, noting that the divided Legislature already passed Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan in 2021.

“If there’s anything more bipartisan in this country than infrastructure, it should be emergency response.

It’s both, and I hope Congress will be willing when we turn to them,” Buttigieg told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Biden is expected to visit the site of the bridge collapse this week.

A massive crane began cutting away part of the collapsed bridge in preparation for demolition on Saturday, in what officials said was the first step in a long and complex cleanup effort. A 180-metric-ton (200-ton) piece of the bridge has been removed and officials are working to determine the best strategy to pull the ship from the wreckage, a spokesman for the governor’s office said Sunday.

Late on Sunday, officials said they were preparing to establish an alternative route for “commercially essential vessels,” although no further details were revealed or when the alternative route would open.

The backup airport will “support marine traffic into Baltimore,” coordinator Capt. David O’Connell said in a statement. Video posted by rescuers showed Coast Guard officials throwing a buoy into the water near the collision site.

Moore said the wreckage and poor weather conditions have made it impossible for divers in recent days to continue searching for the four remaining bodies of the late construction workers.

Moore and other officials declined to disclose an expected timeline for reopening the port and rebuilding the bridge.