Channel opened for shipping vessels around Baltimore Key Bridge wreckage

A temporary shipping channel has opened around the Port of Baltimore to keep maritime traffic coming into the city following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge last Tuesday.

Officials said the passage, located on the northeast side of the main channel close to the bridge, has been marked with government-lighted aids for navigation.

It is 11 feet deep with a 264-foot horizontal clearance and a vertical clearance of 95 feet.

The channel will be accessible to commercially essential vessels as authorities work to remove wreckage from the site.