OREANDA-NEWS The restoration of the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the outer harbor of the port of Baltimore can take from 18 months to several years and from $400 million to $ 1 billion, according to experts interviewed by the AP agency.

In particular, according to Ben Schafer, a professor of engineering at Johns Hopkins University, in fact, the implementation of the project may take from five to seven years. Everything will depend on the financing, the delivery of structures and the timing of the work.

Other experts are more optimistic in their assessments. For example, Sameh Badi, a professor of engineering at George Washington University, estimates that the project could take from 18 months to two years. According to him, the cost will range from $500 million to $1 billion, depending on the details of the project.

According to experts, the economic consequences of the collapse of this bridge in the ninth largest American foreign trade port in terms of cargo handling may affect not only regional logistics, but also have a serious impact on world trade. The direct damage from the destruction of the bridge is $81 billion.

The port is currently completely closed. Repair services with the participation of American army engineers have already begun preliminary work on dismantling the bridge structures. Cranes were brought to the site, according to AR.

"It's not just about Maryland, but about the economy of the whole country. The port handles more cars and agricultural machinery than any other port in the United States," said Maryland Governor Wes Moore, speaking about the need to eliminate the consequences of the incident as soon as possible.

According to Moore, the crane that will be involved in the operation can lift up to 1,000 tons and will be one of at least two used to remove debris from the bridge from the water.

‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‍‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‍‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‍‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‍‌‌‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‍‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‍‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‍‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‍‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‍‌‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‍‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‍‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‍‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‍‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‍‌‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‍‌‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌ He noted that the restoration of the bridge will take a long time, and also thanked the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden for the rapid allocation of $ 60 million to eliminate the consequences of the collapse.

The bodies of four workers who were on the bridge at the time of its collapse remain in the Patapsco River. Two of the crew survived, the bodies of two more were taken out of the water on March 27.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed on the night of March 26 after a Dali container ship lost control and crashed into its support.