Listen to this articleFive hundred businesses have applied for financial assistance stemming from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge last week, the administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration announced Thursday.
The SBA has deemed mid-Atlantic businesses impacted by the bridge collapse eligible for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) of up to $2 million to help overcome temporary loss of revenue from the collapse and Port of Baltimore’s closure to most maritime traffic.
Small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses and private nonprofit organizations are all eligible to apply for loans that may be used to pay normal operating expenses.
The SBA began operating Business Recovery Centers in Baltimore and Dundalk on Monday to assist business owners in completing disaster loan applications, with a new and expanded center opening at the Community College of Baltimore County in Dundalk on Friday.
Baltimore’s Key Bridge destroyed: Everything you need to know
Isabel Casillas Guzman, administrator for the SBA, said a full range of businesses are applying for loans, from sole proprietors to small employee firms.
“We’re working with businesses to understand what their impact is on revenues and expenses,” Guzman said, noting businesses who have applied for loans will start to see disbursements within about two weeks. “We’re seeing heavy demand from those industries that relied on the port.”
Businesses involved in transportation and supply chain logistics will likely suffer most in the short term, Guzman said, but the long-term ripple effects will be widespread.
“This port is critically important to our economy,” said Sen. Ben Cardin, pointing out that many small, independent workers are now out of business. “We need to do everything we can so they can remain in business.”
According to the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, the Port of Baltimore generated more than 15,000 direct jobs, with nearly 140,000 additional jobs affected to some extent by the port’s activities. The economic impact of the bridge’s collapse on Baltimore and the state of Maryland has been described as “incomprehensible.”
John Olszewski, Baltimore County executive, praised the coordination between local, state, and federal partners so far.
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“We will do whatever it takes to make sure that we are helping the folks find their way through, whether that means direct support for housing, for food, for income supplement, loans and grants,” Olszewski said. “We’re looking at all sorts of options.”
Maryland lawmakers have proposed legislation that would allow Port of Baltimore workers to access temporary relief payments from the state, with hopes to pass the bill with less than a week remaining in session.
U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume said he expects this to be a bipartisan effort when congress reconvenes on Tuesday.
“We still have bodies that have not yet been uncovered and families that are still grieving, but I don’t think you could ask for a better effort,” Mfume said.
The filing deadline for EIDL applications is Dec. 30.
The Key Bridge fell March 26 after being struck by the cargo ship Dali, which lost power shortly after leaving Baltimore, bound for Sri Lanka. Authorities believe six of the workers plunged to their deaths in the collapse, including two whose bodies were recovered last week. Two others survived. The ship remains stationary, its 21 crew members still aboard.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
