In the blank spot where the Francis Scott Key Bridge once stood, there are now huge steel pieces, barges, and cranes, humming along as the rebuild’s early stages continue.

With some imagination, though, you can picture two webbed isosceles triangles towering over the Patapsco River years from now, carrying a new highway.

Kiewit Corp., the contracted builder, has nearly completed 70% of the bridge’s design. That’s a key checkpoint and, during a board meeting Thursday, the Maryland Transportation Authority shared updated renderings.

It’s unclear if the new structure will have artificial protective islands known as “dolphins.” But the new images illustrate fortifications around the piers of the cable-stayed bridge.

“We have rigid fenders protecting the new bridge at six locations‚" James Harkness, the authority’s chief engineer, told board members.

Harkness highlighted that there will be about 230 feet between the bridge’s roadway and the water beneath, and that the pylons will be more than 600 feet tall.

“So, a very large structure for the state of Maryland,” he said.

The authority, which owns the state’s toll bridges, expects the bridge to be 70% designed by the end of next month.

After that, the project’s budget and timeline will be updated, officials have said.

Original estimates pegged the project as costing between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion and being finished in October 2028, but the state has cautioned that those figures were established in the immediate aftermath of the collapse.

Gov. Wes Moore has said that he wants the bridge built “during our time.” His term lasts until January 2027, though he’s running for reelection.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said he expects the project to cost double that.

During Thursday’s meeting, Harkness detailed design efforts. Engineers have spent over 300,000 labor hours, he said, and generated more than 25,000 pages of calculation and reports as part of the process.

A 20-foot model of the bridge was tested in a wind tunnel in Canada.

“It’s sitting on a turntable, so that we can study the wind effects from every possible direction. We’ve utilized that to confirm our design assumptions about wind mitigation measures,” he said.

Mechanical demolition, which began in July, continues, and test pieces of the new bridge have been barged to Baltimore. Crews have installed several steel piles, which are being tested for their strength.

Two cranes, a specially made barge and other vessels are out on the water assisting with the project.

“It’s quite a large operation,” Harkness said. “We actually are referring to it as a flotilla.”

The Key Bridge was knocked down by the Dali, a wayward container ship, in March 2024, killing six construction workers.

The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to hold a meeting on Nov. 18 to formally discuss the incident, though that could be postponed due to the federal government shutdown.