Key Bridge fix could have cost $9 billion; Maryand GOP leader urges revised funding

Ben Mause, Baltimore Sun on May 4, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Rep. Andy Harris said on Monday that the cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge was expected to nearly double the $5 billion estimate before the project’s main contractor was let go. Now, he’s urging the federal government to reconsider funding as delays continue.

A fiscal conservative and member of the committee that approved the original funding for the new bridge, Harris estimated the ultimate price of the rebuild would have reached $8 to $9 billion under the previous contractor, citing discussions during a committee meeting.

“Based on discussions and briefings I’ve participated in through my work on the Appropriations Committee, including internal, non-public discussions among members, it’s clear the cost of the Key Bridge project could climb into the $8 to $9 billion range — a far cry from what Marylanders were originally told,” Harris, an Eastern Shore Republican, said Monday in a statement to The Baltimore Sun.

Harris said that the $8 to 9 billion estimate was the reason that the initial contractor, Kiewit Infrastructure, was removed last week. The House Freedom Caucus chair added that he would like Congress to reconsider how much money to allocate to the project.

“The federal government should not be expected to write a blank check for a project with this level of uncertainty,” Harris said on Monday morning during a radio show. “At these projected costs, the federal share must be reevaluated and renegotiated to ensure accountability and protect taxpayers.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation referred The Sun to the state. A spokesperson for Gov. Wes Moore referred to a statement issued after last week’s firing, when Moore said the contractor’s proposed price and timeline were “unreasonably high and therefore unacceptable” — a decision informed by independent cost estimates conducted by the state.

“I concluded that accepting this proposal was not in the best interest of the people of Maryland and the American people,” Moore said. “And I will not move forward with any arrangement that fails that test.”

Last week, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the decision to rebid Phase 2 of the bridge project the “best possible outcome for the public.”

The Key Bridge reconstruction was originally estimated to cost around $2 billion. That number more than doubled last year, when the state confirmed construction would cost closer to $5.2 billion. The timeline for the project’s completion has also slid. It’s now projected to be finished in 2030.

When asked about the potential cost jump, Rep. Kweisi Mfume was perplexed by Harris’ estimate.

“I heard his statements this morning, and I am not sure what his formula is or where he is getting that number from,” Mfume, a Baltimore City Democrat, said in a statement to The Sun. The bridge is located in the Seventh District, which Mfume represents.

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