Ellicott City's major flood mitigation projects continue to move forward, officials say

BALTIMORE -- There's now a crater-sized hole in Ellicott City. But not to worry, it's there to help with the county's flooding problem.

The North Tunnel project is part of Howard County's Ellicott City Safe and Sound Plan. It's part of the county's overall flood mitigation strategy, after devastating floods in 2011, 2016 and 2018.

Julia Sanger, who has two businesses in Old Ellicott City, and is also the president of the Ellicott City Partnership, said those floods continue to haunt her.

"I always tell people that 2016 was sort of surreal, heartbreaking, shocking, and we have this sense of 'Oh my gosh,'" Sanger said. "2018 was soul-crushing."

Sanger was amazed to see what's now become of the North Tunnel project Monday. Ground first broke on the project back in June, back when the area was lush and green.  

Now, after rounds of blasting, there's a gaping hole. When all of it is said and done, the tunnel will be about a mile long.  

The primary tool for creating the tunnel is a tunnel boring machine, which the county has named Rocky. When it arrives this fall, Rocky will be going into the hole that's been created to carve through the granite throughout the area's topography.

Once done, the tunnel will be able to collect and carry around 26,000 gallons of stormwater per second.

Howard County Executive Dr. Calvin Ball said funding is secured for all of the projects that have started, but the tightening of the state budget and the current Trump administration draws some concern.

"We are seeing through numerous executive orders uncertainty about funding, whether it's to our nonprofits, or just federal funding overall," Ball said. "We're hopeful our partners at the federal level will continue along the promises and commitments they've already made to move this project forward."

Progress on the Safe and Sound Plan

Overall, there are seven projects under the Safe and Sound plan. Two retention ponds part of it have already been completed, with a third expected to be operational by the fall.

There have also been some safety measures implemented, like high-ground access signage around Old Ellicott City and a tone alert system.

Sanger said she and her fellow business owners are optimistic.

"It's never an easy thing to believe everything can be fixed easily, but it's encouraging to see progress," Sanger said. "It's encouraging to see our leaders taking steps to promote our safety, make sure that we don't have to go through this again."