Rebuilding Baltimore Bridge ‘Will Not Be Quick or Easy or Cheap,’ Buttigieg Says
A day after President Joe Biden said the federal government would foot the bill for rebuilding the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters Wednesday that it’s too soon to assess the costs involved.
“Rebuilding will not be quick or easy or cheap, but we will get it done," he said at a White House press briefing. He added: “We don’t have dollar estimates yet, but we actually have provisions that allow us to begin releasing funding even while that is being determined.”
Buttigieg said that the Maryland Department of Transportation had submitted an emergency funding request, and that the U.S. government may have some infrastructure funding available from the bipartisan infrastructure law enacted in 2021.
“The infrastructure law did authorize funding into the emergency relief account, which is the mechanism that is most likely to come into play here. Last I checked, there was about $950 million available, but also a long line of needs and projects behind that. So it is certainly possible — I would go so far as to say likely — that we may be turning to Congress in order to help top up those funds, but that shouldn’t be a barrier to the immediate next few days beginning to get the ball rolling.”
Asked whether the administration will be looking to recoup costs from the shipping company, Buttigieg said that any private party found responsible would be held accountable. “Our emphasis and the president’s goal is to make sure that that process is not something we have to wait for in order to support Maryland with the funds that they need,” he said.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview on MSNBC that she expects insurance may also cover some of the costs of reconstruction. “My expectation would be that, ultimately, there’ll be insurance payments in part to cover this,” Yellen said. “But we don’t want to allow worrying about where the financing is coming to hold up reconstruction.”
