You don't have to drive down to the Patapsco to see how the Key Bridge rebuild is coming along anymore. The state put it all on a website.
The Moore administration and the Maryland Transportation Authority launched a public Key Bridge Rebuild dashboard on Monday, Oct. 5, with monthly progress updates. As of Oct. 1, permanent foundation piles for the south pylon, known as Pier 24, were 55% complete, and piles for the north pylon, Pier 25, were 26% complete. Both temporary work platforms, the main line trestles reaching out over the water from the north and south sides, are finished.
"This dashboard will give Marylanders a direct view of the ongoing progress we're making to restore the Key Bridge as a vital economic engine, not just for our state, but for our entire nation," Gov. Wes Moore said, according to WBAL.
What's in the ground so far
These aren't ordinary piles. The dashboard describes them as hollow steel pipes more than 200 feet long and 8 feet in diameter, driven deep into the riverbed to support the bridge foundation and the pier protection fender. Pile work at both pylons is expected to wrap up in spring 2027.
The trestles are temporary structures built on 36-inch steel pipe piles with steel girders and a timber mat surface, giving crews, materials and cranes direct access from land to the piers. Once the bridge is done, they'll be removed and reused or recycled.
The dashboard also lists what's already behind the project. Federal environmental approval came in July 2024. Pre-construction work, including wind tunnel testing, surveys, scour testing and geotechnical investigations, wrapped up in July 2025. A test pile program and demolition of the old bridge's land spans both finished in February 2026, with crews removing 20,000 tons of concrete decking and columns and 160 steel girders.
The new bridge will be more than 2 miles long, with two pylons over 600 feet tall, more than 1,600 feet between them and a minimum of 230 feet of vertical clearance over the shipping channel.
Four contracts, and a new cast of contractors
The way this bridge gets built has changed. Kiewit Infrastructure Co. won the original progressive design-build contract in 2024, but in April MDTA said Kiewit would not be retained for the main construction phase after its price came in far above the state's independent cost estimates. Kiewit is finishing its first-phase work, the foundation piles and trestles, which MDTA says should be done by spring 2027.
The rest of the work is split into four contracts. WBAL reported that the split helps explain why cost estimates range from $4 billion to $5 billion. The cost ranges below are the ones MDTA announced at its May industry forum:
- Demolition and Miscellaneous Marine Work: removing what's left of the old bridge over the water, about $50 million to $100 million. This package was out to bid as of WBAL's Oct. 5 report, with a bid opening expected soon and construction anticipated to start this fall.
- South Land Approach: about 3,000 feet of approach bridge over land and 2,000 feet of roadway, about $300 million to $400 million.
- North Land Approach: about 2,400 feet of approach bridge and 3,400 feet of roadway, about $200 million to $300 million.
- Main Span and Marine Approaches: the cable-stayed main span, pier protection and approaches over the river, about $3.5 billion to $4 billion. MDTA released the request for qualifications in July.
According to WBAL, the south and north approaches are 95% designed, but no segment has reached 100% design yet.
Why it matters for Contractors
This is heavy civil work, not residential, but it's one of the biggest construction jobs in the Baltimore region, and it's likely to pull on the same labor pool, equipment and suppliers local contractors depend on. Splitting it into four contracts was designed to widen competition and open more doors for the local workforce, MDTA said, so expect several prime contractors, each needing subs for concrete, rebar, steel, demolition, drainage, stormwater, lighting and traffic control. The two land approach contracts, at $200 million to $400 million each, include bioswales, retaining walls, roadway and lighting work that local site and specialty contractors can realistically chase. Watch eMaryland Marketplace Advantage for those bid packages, and budget for tighter labor once main span work ramps up.