By Rose Bell
On June 24th, the the Ellicott City Safe and Sound project’s North Tunnel storm water conveyance project in Howard Country, Maryland attained a ground break by Howard County Executive Calvin Ball.
As the largest public works project in Howard County history, this 18-foot diameter tunnel is due to transfer 26,000 gallons of water per second from the West End area of Ellicott City to the Patapsco River after completion.
Through intercepting water and diverting it underground, the tunnel should significantly decrease the risk of flash flooding and the digging process will be predominantly delivering by utilising a tunnel boring machine (TBM) roughly 300 feet long with the ability to dig through solid granite.
The Joint Venture between Kiewit and Traylor Brothers is responsibile for managing this TBM.
According to Matt Swinton, SVP and district manager of Kiewit: “Our Kiewit-Traylor team is proud to partner with Howard County to bring our breadth of resources and tunneling expertise to construct the North Tunnel and realize the vision of the Safe and Sound Program for the Ellicott City community and future generations.”
Following a public competition the TBM has been christened Rocky.
The scheduled date for completiong the tunnel’s excavation is Autumn 2027.
