Governor Wes Moore and members of the Unified Command announced today the "limited access channel" that was promised by the end of April will in fact open later this week, weather permitting.

“This is an important milestone. But I also want to be clear - this is not the goal. This is a step on the journey but it’s not the destination," Gov. Moore said at a press conference.

The timeline set out by the Army Corps of Engineers has the main federal channel reopening at the end of May. Officials say the salvage teams are on track to meet that goal.

The new channel will be 35 feet deep. It's the fourth alternate channel that's been established over the past month to provide relief to the Port of Baltimore as it remains mostly shut down. But this latest one will allow for larger ships, and more commercial activity to return to the port.

“The reason why this was an important milestone is that - around that 35 foot draft is really where you’re starting to get some of the inventory that’s coming on board that have been some of the hallmarks of the Port of Baltimore," Gov. Moore explained. "That’s where you’re starting to get enough draft where you’re able to get things like the aluminum and the container ships that are coming on board. That’s why this one is gonna be such an important feature."

Commercial vessels will pass through the channel while salvage operations continue, adding complexity to the project.