Maryland officials have announced that the timeline and budget for reconstructing the Francis Scott Key Bridge have significantly changed, with completion now expected two years later than initially planned and costs more than doubling.

This update was released Monday, just ahead of a scheduled meeting by the National Transportation Safety Board to discuss the 2024 bridge collapse that tragically resulted in six fatalities. Authorities informed The Washington Post that the project’s new estimated completion date is 2030, with projected costs soaring to approximately $5.2 billion.

“Estimating is challenging for these large-scale projects,” stated Jim Harkness, the chief engineer at the Maryland Transportation Authority. “Market factors and other variables all play a crucial role in these projections.”

Initial estimates, which were around $1.9 billion, were reportedly based on quick calculations aimed at securing federal funding, according to Maryland Transportation Authority officials speaking to the outlet.

In an image capturing the aftermath, the container ship Dali can be seen amidst the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge nearly a week after it collided with a structural pier, leading to the catastrophic collapse on April 1, 2024. (Photo by Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service/Getty Images)

That sentiment lines up with predictions from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy earlier this year. He argued in August that the final bill would likely be “double plus” the initial estimate.

“It’s like if you go to dinner, and someone else is buying, you might order the finest, most expensive steak on the menu, versus if you’re buying, you might go, ‘I might get a little cheaper cut,’” Duffy said at the time.

Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, also noted in a statement to the Post that material costs have risen since the initial prediction last year.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy predicted in August that the price tag for repairing the Key Bridge would spike. (Eric Lee/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump’s administration pushed back on Moore’s rebuilding plans in September, with Duffy writing a letter to the governor thanking him for working with USDOT on the project but expressing concern that Annapolis may “intend to award contracts for the FSK Bridge project in a manner that relies on race and sex of contractors.”

He warned the governor of the potential legal ramifications of doing so, citing the Civil Rights Act.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge was built in 1977 and saw around 31,000 vehicles daily before its collapse last year. (Tasos Katopodis)

On the day it collapsed, then-President Joe Biden separately promised the federal government would cover the entire estimated $1.8 billion cost to make Interstate 695 a full circle once more, while Duffy instead referenced the state – as the MDTA controlled the FSK Bridge when it collapsed.