Commuters directed away from Key Bridge after collapse shuts down I-695’s southeast corridor

The collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge knocked out a major artery of the Baltimore Beltway that thousands of commuters and commercial trucks use daily.

The extent of losing one of the most important bridges on the East Coast and its impact on traffic and trade is not immediately clear. But the disaster is sure to increase congestion around Baltimore’s two harbor tunnels and I-695 west, transportation experts say.

The bridge carried more than 12.4 million commercial and passenger vehicles in 2023 — nearly 34,000 trips a day — according to a MDTA report issued last fall. The four-lane bridge was the outermost of three toll crossings across the harbor in Baltimore, which also include the Harbor Tunnel (I-895) and the Fort McHenry Tunnel (I-95).

The Maryland Transportation Authority advised motorists to avoid the southeast corridor and use interstates 95 and 895 as alternate travel routes. Motorists should also prepare for extra commute time.

A 948-foot cargo ship struck a support column on the 1.6-mile steel bridge Tuesday morning, plunging it into the Patapsco River and blocking the only entry point to Baltimore’s ports from the Chesapeake Bay. The Port of Baltimore is closed indefinitely. Key Bridge was a critical roadway for trucks carrying hazardous materials or too large to travel through the I-95 and I-895 tunnels. Those vehicles must now use the western section of I-695 around the tunnels.

The Maryland Transportation Authority closed I-695’s outer loop at Maryland Route 10 (exit 2) and the inner loop at Maryland Route 157/Peninsula Expressway (exit 43).

The ripple effect on traffic in the Baltimore region will extend well beyond one day’s commute. Celeste Chavis, professor and chair of Morgan State University’s Department of Transportation and Urban Infrastructure Studies, said the bridge’s closure will exacerbate congestion issues at tunnel crossings.

“It’s going to be tough,” Chavis said. “Crossing over the bay, we’re taking away one of three key crossing points. That bridge has pretty high traffic connected to the harbor and Sparrows Point.”

As traffic increases, tens of thousands of people will change their behavior by finding new routes, leaving at different times or deciding not to make certain trips, Chavis said.

Eight construction workers were filling potholes on the bridge around 1:30 a.m. when it collapsed. Two people were rescued, one who is hospitalized in critical condition, and six people remained missing Tuesday evening. Sonar detected vehicles in the water, Baltimore Fire Department Chief James Wallace said, but the number is unknown.

Key Bridge, built to ease congestion at the Harbor Tunnel, made up 9% of the MDTA’s toll revenue in fiscal 2023, according to the report. The Fort McHenry Tunnel and Harbor Tunnel combined clocked 69 million toll transactions in 2023, or 189,000 transactions each day, according to the MDTA data.

Nearly 4,900 trucks traveled across the bridge each day, and $28 billion in goods crossed in a year, said Sean McNally, a spokesperson for the American Trucking Associations.

Trucks carrying hazardous materials, including propane, will now “be subject to roughly 30 miles of detours around the City of Baltimore,” McNally wrote in an email. Vehicles taller than 13-foot-6 and wider than 8 feet are also prohibited from using the I-895 tunnel.

“This will add significant cost in time, fuel and delays for trucks traveling through the region, on top of the disruption that a closure of the Port of Baltimore will inflict on our economy,”  McNally continued, describing the port and bridge as critical components of the nation’s infrastructure and supply chain.

“Aside from the obvious tragedy, this incident will have significant and long-lasting impacts on the region,” he said.

The Key Bridge opened in March 1977, connecting Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County across the Patapsco.

As Dex Dunba looked out over the ruins of the Key Bridge Tuesday morning, he was already calculating the changes to his commute. The Dundalk resident moved to the city just three months ago from Glen Burnie — on the other side of the bridge — and last crossed it shortly before 9 p.m. on Monday night, on his way home from a visit with his mom.

“Welcome to the neighborhood,” said Dunbar, who teleworks but still makes frequent trips to see family and friends in Anne Arundel County. What would normally be a 10-minute drive across the bridge will now take much longer, whether he detours through the Harbor Tunnel, as his GPS suggested, or drives through the city.

“I’m still stuck (on)… just how am I going to begin to do this?” Dunbar said.

There was no impact on local or commuter bus routes Tuesday, according to Veronica Battisti, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration, though the agency listed more than 30 “affected routes” on a running list of service alerts on its website.

Baltimore City Schools are closed for spring break, so the impact to the school system is “minimal,” said city schools spokesperson Sherry Christian.

Jessye Talley, 37, makes it to work at Morgan State University from her Glen Burnie home in a half hour using the Key Bridge. Talley woke up early Tuesday to plan a new route that included enough time to drop her child off at daycare in Baltimore. As she adjusts to using the Harbor Tunnel, Talley said she’ll think twice about traveling downtown for fun if the ride there is too much of a hassle.

“I’m sad,” Talley said. “It was convenient.”

Baltimore Sun reporters Christine Condon and Tony Roberts contributed to this article.