Tunnel Blasting Project To Be Discussed At Upcoming Meeting

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A meeting will be held Thursday for the community to learn more about the upcoming tunnel blasting project as part of the Ellicott City Safe and Sound plan's north tunnel project.

The 6 p.m. meeting will be held in the Roger Carter Community Center's Caplan Room. The meeting will include a brief overview of the project and a detailed explanation of the blasting work, which will start Dec. 20. The blasting work will take place on an as needed basis and weather permitting should wrap up by winter 2027.

The project’s construction manager, Kiewit-Traylor Joint Venture, will review the blasting procedures, regulatory requirements and expectations. Representatives from the project’s design team, Delve Underground and DPW staff, as well as personnel from the county’s department of fire and rescue services and police department, will be on hand to discuss the project, answer questions and listen to public comment.

The 5,000-foot-long tunnel planned for Ellicott City has been designed to carry water away from Main Street and into the Patapsco River. The tunnel will be about 18 feet in diameter and run up to 100-feet underground, just north of Main Street. It will be able to carry 26,000 gallons of stormwater per second and move water away from streets and foundations of Ellicott City and the West End and directly into the Patapsco River. The extended north tunnel is one of seven flood mitigation projects in the EC Safe and Sound Plan.

"The North Tunnel is a transformative project that will serve as a model for flood mitigation across our nation and world. As we prepare to break ground on this once in a generation project this summer, I invite our residents to help name the tunnel boring machine that will be used to construct the North Tunnel," said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball.