Work to remove the largest bridge that collapsed this week in the US city of Baltimore is set to begin on Saturday, local officials announced, which will be long and arduous.
• Read more: [EN PHOTOS] A large crane to remove debris from a collapsed bridge in Baltimore
• Read more: It will take time to reopen Baltimore Harbor after the bridge collapse
• Read more: Collapsed Bridge in Baltimore: What Effects on Global Maritime Trade?
The crane has to lift the first part of the structure that was cut earlier by the emergency services.
“This is the first step of many,” Maryland State Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said at a press conference. “But this is an important step as we begin this process.”
Shannon Gilreath, a US Coast Guard officer, explained that a crane capable of lifting more than a hundred tons would be mobilized to move the cut. He could not give the measurements of the said room.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore clarified that the container ship Daly was not part of the collapsed building.
A boat capsized on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the middle of the night earlier this week due to propulsion problems.
The governor explained that the intention was to remove the entire section of the bridge to open a “temporary canal” so that more boats could take part in the operation, but that the process would take “days”.
Clearing the bridge and freeing the container ship is a priority for local officials who know the economic impact of blocking Baltimore Harbor.
“At least 8,000 dock workers have jobs directly affected,” the governor said.
He also opened the press conference with a thought for those affected by the tragedy.
6 workers working on the bridge are believed to have died in the accident.
The bodies of two of them were found. Efforts to find other remains are still hampered by authorities considering the work of divers at the crash site too dangerous.
