Stephanie Hughes

Daisy Palacios is the supervising producer.

Nancy Fargali is the executive producer.

I'm Stephanie Hughes, and that's Marketplace Tech.

This is APM.

Building a bridge for the future.

From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech.

I'm Stephanie Hughes.

It's been two years exactly since the Francis Scott Key Bridge here in Baltimore was hit by a container ship, the Dali, causing it to collapse.

When it fell, the state lost a well-traveled highway that served commuters as well as truckers moving goods around the Port of Baltimore.

Now the state is rebuilding the bridge.

I met Jim Harkness, chief engineer for the Maryland Transportation Authority, down by the construction site, where there is a hum of activity.

You can see tugboats pushing barges with metal that'll support the bridge.

Harkness told me the new bridge will not be the same key bridge that was built in the 1970s.

It'll be higher and longer, spanning over two miles.

It'll also incorporate new technology.

We'll be right back.

You're listening to Marketplace Tech.

I'm Stephanie Hughes.

We're back with Jim Harkness, chief engineer for the Maryland Transportation Authority.

Jim Harkness.