City of Annapolis breaks ground on project to prevent flooding around City Dock

The city of Annapolis broke ground on Monday on a major flood-protection and revitalization project at City Dock. 

The project is also a central issue in Tuesday's mayoral election, especially with the city still waiting on a critical FEMA grant.

What is the City Dock Resiliency and Revitalization Project?

Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley joined local, state, and federal leaders to break ground on the City Dock Resiliency and Revitalization Project.

According to the project website, it will raise and reinforce the waterfront, add flood barriers, improve drainage, and create a new public space, including a Maritime Welcome Center.

"We are turning a problem of flooding into an opportunity," Buckley said. "We're not just building walls, we're placemaking."

After years of planning, crews are now entering the first active phase of the project, which the city expects to take about 2 1/2 years to complete.

City Dock project is a focus of the mayoral election

However, Annapolis is still waiting on more than $30 million from FEMA.

That's one of the reasons Republican mayoral candidate Bob O'Shea said he wants to reevaluate the project if he gets elected.

"For them to tear down the Harbormasters' House before the funding was even there, yes, we need to work on the flooding once again, and yes, we've gotten state money, but what we need to do is put a pause on this and see where we're going," O'Shea said.

Democratic mayoral candidate Jared Littmann said the city should continue, but cut or delay the non-essential amenities like the Welcome Center if that funding falls through.

"I'm certainly focused on completing the resilience aspect of this project as quickly as possible so that we don't lose our city to the sea," Littman said.

Voters head to the polls on Tuesday to decide which candidate will oversee the project moving forward.

Recent Annapolis flooding

On Thursday, October 30, floodwaters rose more than four feet at the downtown City Dock, which closed streets and forced some businesses to shut down.

Many called it one of the worst non-storm floods in years.

"We saw again last week how urgent downtown flooding has become," Mayor Buckley said. "The economic and community heart of Annapolis is at risk. We cannot wait any longer."