Good Question: Why are US taxpayers paying for the bridge hit by the ship in Maryland?

(WKYT) - For today’s Good Question, Steve asks, “Why are U.S. taxpayers paying for the bridge in Maryland? Shouldn’t the shipping line that hit the bridge be paying for it?”

That shipping company, or at least their insurance, may end up paying for those repairs. However, that process could take years to play out in court.

The Biden administration has said its priority is getting that port back up and running as quickly as possible, and the best way to do that is to ensure there are no delays in paying for the cleanup and construction.

The New York Times says early estimates put those costs at more than $1 billion.

The Port of Baltimore is the ninth-largest port by trade volume. The Wall Street Journal says it was the top port for coal exports and car imports.

When you look at the states moving goods out of that port, in 2021, Kentucky ranked sixth in the nation with 142 thousand tons of goods, valued at more than $133 million. That amount dropped sharply in 2022, down to 4.8 thousand tons. But the imports to Kentucky through that port actually went up between those two years from $216.5 million to $278.6 million.

In the release saying they would request congressional authorization to fully cover the cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the Biden administration also said, “...as the Administration pursues its work to clean up wreckage, clear the channel, and rebuild the bridge, it will continue to pursue all avenues to recover costs of past, current, and future work, and ensure that any compensation for damages or insurance proceeds collected will reduce costs for the American people.”

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