The Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild just became four jobs instead of one. On Tuesday, the Maryland Transportation Authority told contractors it will procure the Baltimore bridge’s reconstruction as four separate packages, with a combined cost the agency now pegs at roughly $4 billion to $4.8 billion.
That’s a deliberate change in strategy, and it says a lot about who can actually build a megaproject right now.
How the four Key Bridge contracts break down
The headline package is the main span: a design-build contract worth $3.5 billion to $4 billion. The scope calls for a 3,365-foot cable-stayed bridge with a 1,665-foot main span and a 230-foot minimum clearance over the shipping channel, taller than the structure a container ship brought down in March 2024. MDTA opens the request for qualifications this summer, with construction expected to start in summer 2027.
The other three are smaller and move on their own timelines. A south land approach (design-bid-build) runs $300 million to $400 million for 3,000 feet of approach bridge and wetland ground improvements. A north land approach lands at $200 million to $300 million for 2,400 feet of approach bridge plus on-grade roadway, abutments and retaining walls. The smallest job, demolition and marine work at $50 million to $100 million, goes out first, with bids this summer and work starting in the fall.
Why MDTA broke up the megaproject
The agency’s own reasoning is competition. By splitting the procurement, MDTA expects more bidders, more room for local firms, and faster awards. There’s good reason to worry about that. Tutor Perini and other heavy-civil builders have flagged how few firms can credibly bid a multibillion-dollar single contract, which tends to push prices up rather than down.
The restructuring follows the agency’s decision to off-ramp Omaha-based Kiewit from Phase 2 after the two sides couldn’t agree on a price for future work, a standard provision in design-build deals. Kiewit isn’t gone yet. Its crews will keep driving permanent foundation piles and building the over-water work platform through at least the end of this year.
What changes for bidders
One real shift: future contracts won’t carry a project labor agreement. Maryland’s DOT decided in February 2025 that a PLA wouldn’t be required going forward, so the next round of work opens up differently for non-union shops. Federal money is still in the mix, which means Build America, Buy America provisions apply across the board.
The phased approach echoes how other big rail and bridge programs have been carved up to keep work moving, from the Hudson Tunnel’s package-by-package awards to the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor. For Baltimore, the first real test comes this summer, when the demolition bids reveal whether splitting the work actually pulls more contractors to the table.