Towson residents frustrated with road closure lasting nearly a month following water main break

BALTIMORE - Residents in a Towson neighborhood say one of the main roads has been shut down for nearly a month since a water main break.

A homeowner in the community brought the issue to the Baltimore County Council before any progress on the repair was made.

Mark Wolff said work resumed on the road Friday after weeks of frustration, and headaches for residents in the neighborhood.

Wolff said the water main break in his neighborhood happened back on July 1.

While the break was repaired quickly, the section of Cowpens Avenue has been shut down ever since.

After weeks of trying, Wolff finally got a direct response from his councilman, Wade Kach, on Thursday and work resumed Friday.

Wolff said the closure started as an inconvenience because it's such a heavily trafficked road.

But it later became a public safety issue for him a few weeks ago when his wife needed to rush to the emergency room for a possible allergic reaction.

"It makes you think, what if it were something more serious and an ambulance needed to get here, or a firetruck or police," Wolff said. "Minutes count with those sorts of things. Where is the communication? Where is the accountability? Who made this mistake that wasn't tracking this?"

A spokesperson for Baltimore City Department of Public Works responded to our request for information saying they expect the road to reopen by the end of next week. 

DPW sent WJZ this statement:

"DPW staff and contractors thank residents for their patience as we work diligently to complete repairs and reopen the Cowpens Avenue roadway. The 42-inch water main break on June 26, 2023, at Cromwell Bridge road and Cowpens Avenue significantly damaged these roadways.  As a result of the water main break, a large cavity formed in the roadway, causing extensive damage along Cowpens Avenue. Nearly 300 tons of asphalt is anticipated to be used for the full repair of Cowpens avenue. In addition, areas of the roadway impacted by the large cavity were carefully repaired and inspected to ensure proper compaction. DPW anticipates a full re-opening of Cowpens Avenue by the end of next week."

Public water projects in Baltimore County are controlled by Baltimore City because the city owns and manages the water system.

According to the email County Councilman Kach sent to Wolff, Baltimore County leadership would like to see that change. 

He said the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation to start that process.