Ports along the U.S. East Coast are modifying their operations to absorb cargo diverted from Baltimore harbor, where salvage specialists are starting the daunting task of clearing debris from the destroyed Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The Port of Virginia, with terminals at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay near Norfolk, is opening a gate Monday at 5 a.m. — an hour earlier than usual — to help accommodate more truckers. The Port of New York and New Jersey, which is expecting additional cargo including autos, is working to allow quick access for transport companies that usually go through Baltimore. A major railroad is expanding its services, too.
Fallout from last week’s deadly bridge collapse, which indefinitely closed the nation’s 17th-largest port by total cargo tonnage and the busiest gateway for vehicles, is expected to be largely contained as neighboring facilities with spare capacity tweak their schedules. Snarls, delays and added costs are more likely to appear outside ports as tens of thousands of shipments require longer routes on already-crowded roadways and rail lines.