Maryland Troopers Association Francis Scott Key Bridge Coin

This item is a commemorative challenge coin minted by the Maryland Troopers Association to honor the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The Francis Scott Key Bridge was a steel arch-shaped continuous truss bridge. Opened in 1977, the 1.6-mile (2.6 km; 1.4 nmi) bridge ran northeast from Hawkins Point, Baltimore, to Sollers Point in Dundalk in Baltimore County, Maryland. On March 26, 2024, at 1:28 a.m. EDT (05:28 UTC), the main spans and the three nearest northeast approach spans of the Francis Scott Key Bridge across the Patapsco River in the Baltimore metropolitan area of Maryland, United States, collapsed after the container ship Dali struck one of its piers. Six members of a maintenance crew working on the roadway were killed, while two more were rescued from the river. Maryland officials plan to replace the bridge by fall 2028 at an estimated cost of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion.