The Port of Baltimore has been closed to most vessel traffic for more than a week. That includes mega container ships bringing goods to be distributed across the region. White Marsh Transport Inc., a trucking business based in Sparrows Point, offloads cargo from ships at the port and transports them to suppliers and retailers. Their warehouse center is about two miles from the Key Bridge, forcing trucks that normally would cross the bridge to drive through the Harbor and Ft. McHenry Tunnels or around the Beltway. “All of that time that’s being used in traffic and congestion is in essence money that they’re losing,” said Holly Marcin, Vice President of Operations at White Marsh Transport, and she expects their capacity to decrease further once the processing of containers currently in port is complete.
Key Bridge update: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced yesterday their plans to reopen the channel affected by the Key Bridge collapse by end of May. Authorities have said clearing the channel will not only reopen a port that’s critical to the economy, but it will also allow for the continued search for the bodies of four construction workers that have yet to be recovered.