Biden vows ‘we will not rest’ until Baltimore’s Key Bridge is rebuilt as he visits scene of disaster

As workers continue efforts to cut apart and remove the twisted wreckage of what was once the Francis Scott Key Bridge, President Joe Biden vowed that he and his administration “will not rest” until a replacement span is rebuild and carrying vehicles across the Patapsco River once more.

Standing outside the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Department headquarters not far from where the bridge once stood, Mr Biden repeated the promise he made in remarks delivered from the White House, mere hours after the container ship Dali struck one of the half-century-old span’s supports, bringing it down and blocking all maritime traffic in and out of Baltimore’s harbour.

As Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, and a bevy of other Old Line State dignaries looked on, Mr Biden said:  “We’re going to move heaven and earth to rebuild this bridge”.

Addressing the people of Maryland, the president pledged that with the aid of the state’s congressional delegation, the country would “have your back” and the federal government would cover the cost of rebuilding.

He also paid tribute to the four highway workers, “hard-working, strong, and selfless,” who lost their lives when the bridge span they were repairing plunged from beneath their feet and cast them into the icy water just over two weeks ago.

Recalling how one of them, a man he identified as Carlos, had placed a call to his girlfriend to tell her he and his colleagues were taking a break to rest so the cement they’d just poured could dry, Mr Biden invoked the fallen worker’s last message as he said he would not rest “until the cement has dried on the entirety of a new bridge”.

The president’s visit to the site of the collapse comes amid