FILE – A section of the new I-35 bridge is raised from a barge in the foaming Mississippi River at Minneapolis, June 24, 2008. The I-35W bridge was rebuilt in less than 14 months. Experts say the rebuilding of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge likely will take longer, with estimates ranging from 18 months to several years. (AP Photo/Andy King, File)
A container ship rests against the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. After days of searching through murky water for the workers missing after the bridge collapsed, officials are turning their attention Thursday to what promises to be a massive salvage operation. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
A container ship rests against the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. After days of searching through murky water for the workers missing after the bridge collapsed, officials are turning their attention Thursday to what promises to be a massive salvage operation. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
In this image released by the National Transportation and Safety Board, a NTSB investigator is seen on the cargo vessel Dali, which struck and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Wednesday, March 27, 2024 in Baltimore. (Peter Knudson/NTSB via AP)
FILE – A section of the new I-35 bridge is raised from a barge in the foaming Mississippi River at Minneapolis, June 24, 2008. The I-35W bridge was rebuilt in less than 14 months. Experts say the rebuilding of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge likely will take longer, with estimates ranging from 18 months to several years. (AP Photo/Andy King, File)
A container ship rests against the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. After days of searching through murky water for the workers missing after the bridge collapsed, officials are turning their attention Thursday to what promises to be a massive salvage operation. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
A container ship rests against the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. After days of searching through murky water for the workers missing after the bridge collapsed, officials are turning their attention Thursday to what promises to be a massive salvage operation. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
In this image released by the National Transportation and Safety Board, a NTSB investigator is seen on the cargo vessel Dali, which struck and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Wednesday, March 27, 2024 in Baltimore. (Peter Knudson/NTSB via AP)
FILE – A section of the new I-35 bridge is raised from a barge in the foaming Mississippi River at Minneapolis, June 24, 2008. The I-35W bridge was rebuilt in less than 14 months. Experts say the rebuilding of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge likely will take longer, with estimates ranging from 18 months to several years. (AP Photo/Andy King, File)
A container ship rests against the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. After days of searching through murky water for the workers missing after the bridge collapsed, officials are turning their attention Thursday to what promises to be a massive salvage operation. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Rebuilding Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge could take anywhere from 18 months to several years, experts say, while the cost could be at least $400 million — or more than twice that.
It all depends on factors that are still mostly unknown. They range from the design of the new bridge to how swiftly government officials can navigate the bureaucracy of approving permits ...
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