Francis Scott Key Bridge (Baltimore)

The Francis Scott Key Bridge (informally, Key Bridge or Beltway Bridge) was a steel arch continuous through truss bridge that spanned the lower Patapsco River and outer Baltimore Harbor/Port. Opened on March 23, 1977, it carried the Baltimore Beltway (Interstate 695 or I-695) between Dundalk and Hawkins Point. It collapsed on March 26, 2024, after a container ship struck one of its piers. Officials have announced plans to replace the bridge by fall 2028.

Initially named the Outer Harbor Crossing, the bridge was renamed in 1976 for poet Francis Scott Key, who wrote the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner", the U.S. national anthem. At 8,636 feet (2,632 m), it was the second-longest bridge in the Baltimore metropolitan area, after the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Its main span of 1,200 feet (366 m) was the third-longest of any continuous truss in the world.

Operated by the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), the bridge was the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore's harbor, along with the Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels. It carried an estimated 11.5 million vehicles annually, including trucks carrying hazardous materials prohibited in the tunnels. It completed the last gap in I-695's circuit of the city, although the bridge roadway was officially a state road: the unsigned Maryland Route 695.