Salvage crews mobilize as first $60 million approved for Baltimore bridge disaster

​DUNDALK, Maryland — Salvage crews began their trip Thursday to the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s wreck site as incoming commercial ships and first responders found a helping hand from the shaken but resolute community.

The U.S. Coast Guard said crane-carrying barges set out for the Patapsco River to remove the metal and concrete from the channel. The bridge crashed within seconds after the cargo ship Dali lost power and struck one of the support columns early Tuesday.

At least two men were killed, and four others are feared dead in the chilly waters.

The crash shut down the busy Port of Baltimore, putting thousands temporarily out of work and leaving the incoming shipments in limbo.

In the first sparks of a partisan divide over the disaster, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, told reporters Thursday that the state would seek some $60 million in emergency federal funding to begin removing the debris. U.S. officials said later in the day that the money had been approved.

“Government is working hand in hand with industry to investigate the area, including the wreck, and remove the ship,” the governor said at an event that also marked Opening Day for the Baltimore Orioles.

Baseball fans at Camden Yards held a moment of silence in memory of the victims. They gave a raucous cheer for the local police officers credited with preventing even more deaths by stopping traffic headed toward the bridge just seconds before the disaster.

President Biden’s pledge to have the federal government cover the “entire cost” of the recovery drew a sharp rebuke from Rep. Daniel Meuser, Pennsylvania Republican. He said the promise was premature at best.

“It was kind of outrageous for Biden to express in this tragedy the idea that he’s going to use federal funds to pay for the entirety,” Mr. Meuser said in an interview with Fox Business News. “This is a crisis situation, but it needs a plan, not a knee-jerk spending reaction.”

The total cost is likely to run into the billions of dollars. 

Rep. Kweisi Mfume, the Maryland Democrat who represents the district where the bridge was located, criticized Mr. Meuser’s remarks and told Politico he had already been in touch with House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, on a larger, bipartisan spending package for the project.

Amid the tragedy and economic devastation, residents in neighboring Dundalk showed a willingness to help.

“It’s very obvious that the people who patronize here, they’ve lived here their entire lives and they believe in this place,” Alex DelSordo, the new owner of the Hard Yacht Cafe and Anchor Bay East Marina, told The Washington Times. “Regardless of what happens — up or down, highs and lows — this is their home.”

Mr. DelSordo officially took over the business on March 17 and was looking forward to what he said would be his first full week of normal operations.

That was until he received a call at about 3 a.m. Tuesday from Hard Yacht’s former owner, who told him to “get your a— down” to the restaurant.

The Key Bridge had toppled, and the local fire department was on its way to refuel. A few hours later, rescue divers showed up to recuperate at the eatery. Soon afterward, Mr. DelSordo was fielding calls from other agencies saying they needed a place to dock their boats.

It has been a whirlwind for Mr. DelSordo and his staff. The Hard Yacht has kept its fueling station open around the clock and provided free meals to the first responders. They can also use other amenities if needed, including beds, showers and laundry services.

The Hard Yacht owner estimated that more than 300 emergency workers had visited his business since the bridge collapse.

A commitment to first responders is part of the restaurant’s heritage. Mr. DelSordo said the previous owners offered half-off meals for all police officers, firefighters and other first responders. He plans to resume the policy once the situation starts to normalize.

Mr. DelSordo said he can likely maintain the marina’s 24/7 schedule for two weeks before he has to readjust his approach. In the meantime, he shows evident pride, recounting how his staff has “done their jobs to perfection” during a time of disruption and loss.

Work at the yard

Just across Bear Creek at Tradepoint Atlantic, the industrial port and railyard is doing its part to ease the crisis in one of the city’s bedrock economic levers.

Tradepoint has the advantage of sitting beyond the Key Bridge wreckage, so container ships still have a place to unload their cargo and complete their voyages.

The multimodal hub received a shipment Wednesday from a vessel carrying Volkswagen cars. The Port of Baltimore is one of the most active ports for car shipments in the U.S.

Scott Cowan, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 333, told The Associated Press on Thursday that his union is scrambling to help its roughly 2,400 members whose jobs are in jeopardy until the harbor is cleared.

“If there’s no ships, there’s no work,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can.”

Chuck Jacobs, the manager at The Fountain, a bar inside the Drug City pharmacy store, said his eldest son is working long hours to keep up with the spike in demand.

“He’s working nonstop,” Mr. Jacobs said in an interview. “My younger son works at the Port of Baltimore, and now work for him is minimal. They’re trying to find stuff for him to do.”

Tradepoint took over the space once occupied by Bethlehem Steel, the city’s main employer, during its boom years in the mid-20th century.

As the factory shrank and eventually closed, the neighborhood’s blue-collar charm faded. Dundalk residents became known for their lack of interest in education and ambition to improve their lives.

The label is unfair, said real estate agent Robert Kaetzel.

He said he grew up in nearby Essex and is well aware that outsiders look down on Dundalk. Part of the negative perception comes from Dundalk’s wastewater treatment plant, which emits some unfortunate aromas. Mr. Kaetzel said the town lore is more myth than fact.

“I lived across the water from that plant for five years, and it doesn’t smell, but good luck trying to shake that reputation,” he said.

Waiting for help

At the wreck site, officials said the largest crane on the Eastern Seaboard would arrive late Thursday. Another crane is expected to be delivered Saturday.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that logs showed the container ship lost power just minutes before it went on a crash course with the Key Bridge around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Two people were saved shortly after the bridge collapsed. They were part of the eight-man construction crew filling potholes on the bridge.

Authorities identified the two known victims Wednesday as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, who lived in Baltimore but was from Mexico, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, who lived in Dundalk and was from Guatemala. They were found inside a red pickup truck 25 feet below the surface.

Officials fear the four missing workers are encased in the bridge’s underwater wreckage.

AP reported that the governors of New York and New Jersey offered to take on cargo shipments destined for Baltimore to try to minimize supply chain disruptions. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was reportedly meeting with supply-chain executives as the bridge repairs proceed.

While vowing to rebuild, Mr. Moore said the road to recovery has no shortcuts.

“This work is not going to take hours,” he said. “This work is not going to take days. This work is not going to take weeks. We have a very long road ahead of us.”

• This article is based in part on wire service reports.