Portion Of Ellicott City Main Street To Reopen This Week
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Beginning Wednesday, a portion of the western end of Ellicott City's Main Street that sustained minor or no damage in the July 30 flood will be reopened, officials announced Tuesday.
Howard County Executive Allan H. Kittleman said the county will open access at two locations, effectively shrinking the perimeter of Main Street's "no-access" area. Access will be restored at the top of Main Street from Ellicott Mills Drive to Court Avenue, and on Old Columbia Pike down to Main Street.
"This is a very dynamic and constantly evolving situation," said Kittleman.
These changes will allow businesses at the western end of Main Street and along Tonge Row a chance to reopen.
On-street parking on Main Street continues to be prohibited and parking in general will be tight. Limited parking will be available on parking Lot "D" by Roussey Lane to accommodate employees and customers of those accessible businesses.
An updated map of the accessible areas in located online HERE.
Over the next few weeks, Kittleman expects the no-access perimeter to continue shrinking.
Depending on the weather, the county and State Highway Administration officials are hopeful that the bridge that spans the Patapsco River from Baltimore County will reopen, as well.
Kittleman cautions that there is still much work to be done, though. More sidewalks must be installed, buildings still need to be shored up, significant stabilization and repair work is needed along Hamilton Street and major work must be done in front of Salon Marielle.
Among those reopening on Wednesday is Judge's Bench Pub, where many race to for shelter as flood waters swept through Main Street.
"Usually early in the morning you hear crowds from rush hour going by and it's a dead city basically," said Jane Johnson. "We hope Ellicott City can come back and just be a vibrant place like it use to be."
BGE will also be installing a new, 4-inch natural gas line on Main Street from Court Avenue to Maryland Avenue. During this extensive repair, BGE will be connecting this line to nearly 70 properties along Main Street.
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