An alternate channel is being prepared for essential vessels at Baltimore bridge collapse site

Officials say the U.S. Coast Guard is preparing a temporary alternate channel for commercially essential vessels near the fallen Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Crews have begun the complicated work of removing steel and concrete at the site of the bridge’s deadly collapse into the Patapsco River after a freighter collision last week. Officials described the establishment of the temporary channel as part of a phased approach to opening the main one. A video showed the Coast Guard dropping buoys in the water on Sunday. Capt. David O’Connell, is the federal on-scene coordinator. He calls it "an important first step along the road to reopening the port of Baltimore.”