[vreihen16]

It took five years in the 1970's to build that bridge, which equates to a century for a replacement with today's environmental regulations.

It took over a year to remove the capsized car carrier ship from Brunswick, GA a few years ago. Let's hope that Maryland can at least clear the harbor channel enough for the Port of Baltimore to pass ships through in a few months.

For those who don't drive through that area, the eastern I-695 outer loop was the shorter hazmat and propane tank route around Baltimore when traveling on I-95. (I-95 and I-895 through Baltimore pass through tunnels, with hazmat and size restrictions.) The longer western I-695 outer loop is now the only bypass option, so rebuilding the bridge may not be feasible. It may also re-open the old debate on replacing it with a tunnel, so that this kind of ship disruption cannot happen again.....