Maryland is taking the first steps to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge by sending a call out to businesses for design plans.

The request for proposals signals the beginning of the procurement process to build a new bridge after a nearly 1000-foot-long cargo ship crashed into the Key Bridge in late March causing it to collapse.

“The collapsed spans include the 1,200-foot main span over the navigation channel and the two adjacent truss spans each of 720 feet in length,” the proposal states. “The length of the collapsed truss spans is about 2,644 feet. In addition, a few girder spans also collapsed. The collapse rendered the highway and ship channel impassable. This project will replace the FSK Bridge and approaches.”

The new bridge will span the 1.7-mile distance between Dundalk and Hawkins Point.

State officials previously stated that the project could cost between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion.

The state is leaving much of the design details up to contractors. However, it does require that the design have a plan for vessel collision protection.

The Key Bridge collapse is causing federal agencies and state governments to look into the safety of their infrastructure.

The Coast Guard is conducting a national review of port safety and risk management.

“It is evident looking more broadly, that the size and complexity of ships has grown over the years, placing greater demands on our marine transportation infrastructure that may not have kept pace with the increased risks that these vessels pose,” Deputy Commandant for Operations Vice Admiral Peter Gautier said last month.

Johns Hopkins University is undertaking a year-long study into the probability of another ship-bridge collision in the United States.

That study will look at large amounts of cargo shipping data to calculate the probability that a ship the size of the one that hit the Key Bridge could stray from its path and harm infrastructure.