BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (WBFF) — A funding fight over the century-old Warren Road Bridge is escalating, with Baltimore City now threatening to close it altogether if they cannot reach an agreement with Baltimore County over who should pay to replace it.
The Warren Road Bridge sits in Baltimore County, but is owned by Baltimore City. That’s because it crosses the Loch Raven Reservoir – a city water system. The bridge has been rated in poor condition for years, and while both jurisdictions agree it needs to be replaced, newly exchanged letters show they remain divided over how to pay for the project.
In a letter sent this week, Baltimore County pressed the city to move forward with applying for federal funding that could potentially cover up to 80% of the estimated $30 million replacement project. The county offered to split the remaining local share with the city, which would leave each jurisdiction responsible for roughly 10% of the project’s cost.
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However, county officials say they cannot apply for the federal funding themselves because Baltimore City owns the bridge.
A day later, the city fired back.
In its response, Baltimore City said that “in the best interest of its residents,” the federal transportation funding available to the city is being directed toward infrastructure projects located within Baltimore City. The letter goes on to say the current design, that has already been paid for, would have to be redone to meet federal standards. As a solution, the city offered to turn ownership of the bridge over so the county can seek funding itself. But if they can’t reach an agreement, the city is threatening to “close and decommission” the bridge.
The possibility of a closure is frustrating residents who rely on it.
“I think it would be a terrible thing to do,” one area resident told FOX45.
“Well, they got to get their crap together. They got to get together. They do,” another said.
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Residents also questioned why the dispute has reached this point when concerns about the bridge’s condition are nothing new.
For nearly a decade, federal bridge inspection data has classified the Warren Road Bridge as being in poor condition. During that time, the bridge has also been closed three separate times for emergency repairs.
“Just because more county residents might drive over it, you know, city owns it,” one resident said.
“I bet there are people in the city that use that bridge also,” another added, “So why can’t the two city and county get together and work out something?”
For now, there is no timeline for when Baltimore City could move to close the bridge.
Baltimore County told FOX45 Friday that conversations are continuing to determine the best path forward. FOX45 also asked Baltimore City why it waited until now to seek a long-term solution for the bridge and whether money already spent designing its replacement could be wasted if the project has to return to the design phase. The city has not responded to those questions.
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