Long Term Impacts of the Key Bridge Collapse on Baltimore-area Residents Daily Lives

On March 26, 2024, Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed as the result of a container ship striking one of its main supports. The collapse tragically killed six workers and shuttered the Port of Baltimore for months, which disrupted international trade and resulted in a loss of income for thousands of port workers and workers in related businesses. As local, state, and federal government agencies responded, the daily lives of many Baltimore area residents were impacted as the bridge that was used by 35,000 daily commuters no longer existed, causing long term traffic issues.

In this research brief, we examine longer-term impacts of the collapse on the daily lives of Baltimore-area residents. We use data from the 2024 Baltimore Area Survey, which was in the field in fall 2024, approximately six to seven months after the collapse, to estimate these measures. In our initial report on the findings from the 2024 survey, we found that just under half of Baltimore area residents reported that their lives were affected by the Key Bridge collapse, with about one in ten reporting that it affected them “a great deal”. In this brief, we examine the responses to the full set of questions about the Key Bridge collapse to understand the impact of the bridge collapse on various aspects of residents’ daily lives, provide information on confidence in government response to the collapse, and confidence in the rebuild timeline.

Click here to read the report.

Source: Johns Hopkins University 21st Century Citites Initiative