There’s a start date now for the enormous task of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Crews will begin work Jan. 7 with preconstruction activities such as surveying, scanning the riverbed and collecting soil samples. Demolition is expected in the spring, said Jim Harkness, Maryland Transportation Authority’s chief engineer.

The preconstruction activities will kick off a rebuilding effort that’s expected to take nearly four years and cost about $2 billion. President Joe Biden had requested congressional approval for the federal government to foot the bill entirely, funding that was put in question during Congressional negotiations to pass a spending bill and avert a government shutdown.

Gov. Wes Moore released a video message Saturday thanking Congress for passing a bill that maintains federal funding for a new Key Bridge. He then addressed the ambitious work ahead.

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“This is an important moment, Maryland, because we are going to show that we can do big things. And in the face of tragedy, we recover, we stand together,” he said.

In August, the Maryland Transportation Authority awarded the construction contract to the Kiewit Corporation with headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. The company is one of the largest construction firms in the U.S., and it has proposed rebuilding the bridge to be taller and longer than the former structure. The shipping channel is expected to remain open during construction.

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The Francis Scott Key Bridge had stretched across the Patapsco River for almost 50 years to connect the eastern boundary of Baltimore with Dundalk and Sparrows Point. In the early morning of March 26, the container ship Dali lost power while leaving the Port of Baltimore and slammed into a main support pier of the bridge. Within seconds, the bridge crumpled into the river.

The bridge collapse killed six men who were fixing potholes on the deck. The wreckage abruptly shutdown the port and cut off one of the main routes to and from Baltimore.

Nearly six months later, the Department of Justice sued the ship’s owner and operator, alleging the Dali had been rendered unseaworthy because of haphazard repairs and recklessly disabled backup systems. The companies settled the case for $100 million. Federal authorities continue to investigate with the possibility of filing criminal charges over the crash.