In addition, it's worth noting that the Key Bridge was built to lower standards than are acceptable today, so it has to be completely redesigned and rebuilt - we can't just slap up another bridge of the same design. Plus, with the circumstances that caused it to collapse, you can bet that any replacement bridge will be very much reinforced against a similar incident, probably to the point where it's almost too strong given the likelihood of another incident like that.

There are so many people on Facebook that seem to think it should have been rebuilt already. They think Maryland should already have had plans to rebuild it in the file..........it's likely they are the same people that also bitch about taxes every chance they get. I have the strong impression many of them aren't even local; they're just stirring the pot, trying to make Governor Wes Moore (a Democrat) look bad; they actually have no stake in the game and probably have never even been to Maryland.

this user bridges

I agree with you on the concept that it is a normal bridge with a reasonable budget. The Changtai Yangtze river bridge was from what I can find about 8.5 billion USD while the Iran war to date has cost 37.5 billion from what I can find with some saying over 100 billion.

At some point you can start forgoing concrete for much more expensive and exotic materials. The Francis Scott Key Bridge has been broken for over two years at this point with plans to have it replaced by 2030, meaning 1/3rd of the time to complete has already elapsed without construction. Building something in a third the time with over 10 times the budget doesn't seem as unreasonable as asking nine women to have one baby.