Key Bridge Debris Removal Continues, Steel Being Cut and Transferred for Recycling

Crews are still working to remove thousands of tons of steel that remain in the Patapsco River following the collapse of the Key Bridge in Maryland. The next big step is moving that material somewhere and recycling it.

Earlier this week the Unified Command, the group of state and federal agencies working on the response to the collapse, showed members of the media the processing site in Sparrows Point where the bridge debris is taken for recycling. Crews are working on massive pieces of steel, cutting them down for transport.

"Very large pieces of material, steel trusses, some 70 feet by 40 feet. They are cut down using propane torches, mechanical shears, and systematically processed to ever smaller pieces that will eventually be able to be hauled off the site by trucks," James Harkness, chief engineer for the Maryland Transportation Authority, said.

So far, the effort has amounted to six pieces, in total more than 1,000 tons have been lifted from the river and taken to Sparrows Point, according to Harkness.

"We are utilizing some local businesses to recycle the materials to the greatest extent possible," Harkness said.

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