UPDATE: Rep. Andy Harris has also joined the call for an expedited rebuild of the Key Bridge.

Original story below…

BALTIMORE, MD—Delegates Kathy Szeliga and Ryan Nawrocki are calling for federal and local officials to rebuild the fallen Francis Scott Key Bridge in record time.

The Delegates are asking federal, state, and local authorities to replicate the recovery and rebuild efforts of the 2007 I-35W Mississippi River Bridge collapse which was rebuilt in less than 13 months.

Within two days of that bridge collapse, Congress passed a unanimous, bipartisan resolution to spend $250 million to rebuild that bridge. All efforts were streamlined as multiple agencies worked unilaterally to rebuild the bridge safely in record time.

“Thank goodness for the May Day warning alerted by the ship which allowed police officers to stop traffic on the bridge, avoiding further loss of life,” said Delegate Szeliga. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families, as well as our emergency responders who were able to react to the incident in minutes.. Our community must and will come together during this tragedy that affects everyone in Baltimore and so many people in Maryland and we will assist in this matter in any way possible.”

“I drive this bridge twice a day,” said Delegate Nawrocki. “I drove over this bridge last night at 9:30 PM. This issue directly impacts many Marylanders who either drive this bridge or work at the Port. We must expedite the process to get the channel cleared and the bridge rebuilt as quickly as possible.”

The Delegates say the time period of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge can decrease from several years to months if elected officials replicate the rebuilding efforts of the Minneapolis Bridge project and not allow government red tape to hold back the recovery efforts.

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