00:00 Trapped vessels have started to escape Baltimore Port following last week's collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
00:07 A channel has been opened on the northbound side of the fallen crossing.
00:11 That's allowing limited marine traffic to pass through.
00:15 The first vessel was a tug pushing a barge full of jet fuel for the Department of Defense.
00:21 However, much of the channel remains blocked by wreckage and the giant container ship Dolly,
00:26 which struck the bridge and brought it down.
00:29 That means it could be a long time before commercial shipping can get back to normal at the port,
00:35 a key gateway for exports of farm goods and other products.
00:39 Maryland Governor Wes Moore says no effort will be spared to restore the crossing and restart cargo movement.
00:45 We cannot rebuild the bridge until we clear the wreckage.
00:51 But I'm telling you, we are going to get this done.
00:56 We will clear the channel. We will move the dolly.
01:01 We will rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
01:05 Efforts are underway to remove the wreckage, but it's no easy task.
01:09 Officials say it's so tangled that it's hard to know where to cut.
01:13 Recovery workers needed 10 hours to free and remove one 200-ton piece of debris.
01:19 And they described that as a relatively small lift.
01:23 The Coast Guard says the situation is even worse underwater,
01:27 where visibility is limited by the sheer volume of debris.
01:30 That all leaves officials unwilling to estimate how long the clear-up could take.
01:35 On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden will get a first-hand look at the problem when he visits the area.
01:42 The administration is working with Congress to ensure that the federal government pays to rebuild the bridge.
01:48 bridge.
01:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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