Dem Rep. Garamendi: Don’t Worry Too Much About Environmental Rules with MD Bridge, Can Build Quick When Needed

On Wednesday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) stated that while there could be lengthy delays in rebuilding Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, the bridge can also be rebuilt promptly because we are capable of building bridges “quickly, if there is a necessity to do so and there is certainly a necessity here.” He also stated that environmental factors “should be secondary or maybe not even considered as a new bridge is designed and built.” Garamendi also floated the possibility of expediting the design process by borrowing a design from another bridge.

Garamendi said, “With regard to the timing, it could take forever to get it built. But, on the other hand, we can build quickly, if there is a necessity to do so and there is certainly a necessity here. The environmental issues are — should be secondary or maybe not even considered as a new bridge is designed and built. And maybe we don’t even need a new design. There are bridges that are similar purpose to this one. We can take a design out of an older bridge that may have been built in the last decade with modern standards. So, let’s get on with it.”

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