The Daily Dig
The Maryland Transportation Authority has restructured the Francis Scott Key Bridge reconstruction into four separate procurements, with a combined estimated cost ranging from just over $4 billion to $4.8 billion. MDTA made the announcement May 19, 2026, during a virtual industry forum, citing expanded competition, faster contract awards, and broader local workforce opportunity as the driving factors behind the split approach.
The largest package is the main span design-build contract, estimated between $3.5 billion and $4 billion. The design calls for a cable-stayed bridge with a 3,365-foot total length, a 1,665-foot main span, and 230 feet of minimum clearance over the federal channel. The request for qualifications opens this summer, with construction anticipated to begin in summer 2027. The scope also includes pier protection and marine approach spans on both sides of the main structure.
The two land approach contracts are both design-bid-build. The south approach covers approximately 3,000 feet of bridge over land, about 2,000 feet of on-grade roadway, and ground improvements within wetland. That package is estimated at $300 million to $400 million, with bids opening fall 2026 through winter 2027 and construction anticipated to start spring 2027. The north approach involves approximately 2,400 feet of bridge over land and 3,400 feet of on-grade roadway, at an estimated $200 million to $300 million, with bids opening winter 2027 and construction anticipated to begin the following spring.
The first contract to go to market is the demolition and miscellaneous marine work package, estimated at $50 million to $100 million. The scope covers removal of two three-span steel plate girder units over the Patapsco River, partial demolition of eight marine piers, sub-aqueous demolition of three marine foundations, full demolition of two land piers, and clean-out of 96-inch steel pipe piles. Bids open this summer, with construction anticipated to begin fall 2026.
Kiewit Infrastructure Co. was off-ramped from Phase 2 of the project after MDTA and the firm could not agree on a final price for future work, a standard provision in design-build contracts. Kiewit remains on site completing its contracted Phase 1 scope, driving permanent foundation piles and building the trestle over the water, through at least the end of the calendar year. Future contracts will not require a project labor agreement, following a Maryland DOT decision made in February 2025. All contracts will need to comply with Build America Buy America provisions given the federal funding involved.
Snapshot:
Project: Francis Scott Key Bridge Reconstruction
Owner/Agency: Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA)
Location: Patapsco River, Baltimore, Maryland
Total Estimated Cost: Just over $4 billion to $4.8 billion (combined across four contracts)
Procurement Strategy: Four separate contracts (design-build and design-bid-build)
Current Contractor: Kiewit Infrastructure Co. (Phase 1, through at least end of 2026)
Contract 1 - Demolition and Miscellaneous Marine Work
Delivery Method: Design-Bid-Build
Estimated Cost: $50M to $100M
Scope: Removal of two three-span steel plate girder units; partial demolition of eight marine piers; sub-aqueous demolition of three marine foundations; full demolition of two land piers; clean-out of 96-inch steel pipe piles
Invitation for Bids: Summer 2026
Anticipated Construction Start: Fall 2026
Contract 2 - South Land Approach
Delivery Method: Design-Bid-Build
Estimated Cost: $300M to $400M
Scope: Approx. 3,000 ft approach bridge over land; approx. 2,000 ft on-grade roadway; ground improvements within wetland; ITS, electronic tolling, and roadway/bridge lighting elements
Invitation for Bids: Fall 2026 to Winter 2027
Anticipated Construction Start: Spring 2027
Contract 3 - North Land Approach
Delivery Method: Design-Bid-Build
Estimated Cost: $200M to $300M
Scope: Approx. 2,400 ft approach bridge over land; approx. 3,400 ft on-grade roadway; ground improvements at abutment; ITS, electronic tolling, and roadway/bridge lighting elements
Invitation for Bids: Winter 2027
Anticipated Construction Start: Spring 2027
Contract 4 - Main Span and Marine Approaches
Delivery Method: Design-Build
Estimated Cost: $3.5B to $4B
Scope: Cable-stayed bridge; 3,365 ft total length; 1,665 ft main span; 230 ft minimum clearance over federal channel; vessel collision pier protection; approx. 660 ft south marine approach bridge; approx. 1,560 ft north marine approach bridge
Request for Qualifications: Summer 2026
Anticipated Construction Start: Summer 2027
Labor: No PLA required (Maryland DOT decision, February 2025)
Federal Compliance: Build America Buy America provisions apply
TheJobWalk Thoughts
When a single infrastructure contract clears $3 billion, the number of firms that can actually bond it, staff it, and absorb the risk gets very small, very fast. That limited pool is not just a competition problem, it puts pricing pressure in the wrong direction for owners. Splitting this into four packages is how MDTA gets more hands in the room and more tension in the bidding.
For marine and demolition contractors, the window is already open. The demolition IFB hits this summer and construction kicks off in fall 2026. That is the most immediate opportunity on this project, and firms that are not already scoping it are behind. The approach packages follow in 2027, and the firms assembling main span design-build teams are doing that work right now, not after the RFQ drops.
The detail most people will skip over is the domestic steel requirement. Build America Buy America applies to all four contracts, and a cable-stayed bridge of this scale carries serious structural steel volume. Fabrication lead times for domestic structural steel on a project like this can stretch well beyond a year. Suppliers and fabricators who want to be specified need to be in front of the design-build teams forming around the main span today, not when the RFQ closes.
