Hazmat Trucks Illegally Using Baltimore Tunnels, Investigation Reveals

An investigation by an online Baltimore news organization shows truckers carrying hazardous materials are routinely breaking the law by using two tunnels that bar such loads.

An investigation by the Baltimore Banner shows safety repercussions after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River on March 26. That destroyed a central passage for transporting hazardous materials up and down the East Coast.

Trucking executives say it adds another 45 minutes to an hour to reroute hazmat trucks around the Baltimore Beltway. But many truckers apparently don’t have the patience to wait.

The investigation shows hazmat trucks are now using Baltimore’s underwater tunnels instead, where state law prohibits such cargo.

Over several hours recently, Banner journalists say they observed 40 tanker trucks going through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. They included more than a dozen with hazmat placards typically prohibited from driving through the underpasses, which are two lanes and narrow. One tunnel is 67 years old.

Several other tankers had removed their hazmat placards before entering the tunnels. Moreover, law enforcement has been doing little to stop the illegal hazmat traffic.

With the Baltimore Port now fully reopened to maritime traffic, experts are predicting a “perfect storm” as thousands of trucks will enter the Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels with containers from overseas amid peak summer traffic. These hazmat loads can be anything from diesel fuel, heated metals and compressed gas.

“We began discussing this within a couple days of the Key Bridge incident,” Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace told the Banner. “The absence of placards presents a life safety problem.”

The rebuilding of the Key Bridge is expected to take four years and more than $2 billion.

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