$50M Cost Increase For Extended North Tunnel Project Disclosed By HoCo Executive Ball

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — The Ellicott City Extended North Tunnel project, which has been delayed, now is nearing design completion. However, costs have increased due to inflation by 25 percent, or $50 million, to $130 million.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, updated residents via video on the tunnel, which is the largest component of the Ellicott City Safe and Sound plan.

“Ensuring a vibrant and safe future of Ellicott City remains worthy of every dollar that we have invested,” Ball said in the video. “While we understood the sizable investment required when we began this project in 2019, we could not foresee the present inflationary pressures straining household and organizational budgets here and nationally. I remain hopeful and determined that our EC Safe and Sound plan is the right path forward to safeguard Ellicott City for our residents, businesses, visitors and community. From the beginning, we knew that this plan would not be easy. We knew it was complex, but we knew it was the right thing to do and will make Ellicott City a national model for communities across the country.”

In the last year, construction and building costs in Maryland have increased by nearly 15 percent and more than 21 percent respectively, Ball said.

"These external economic factors have increased the price of the extended north tunnel by more than 25 percent since the project’s inception in 2019," Ball said.

The extended north tunnel project, which measures approximately 5,000 feet long and 18 feet in diameter, will be able to carry 26,000 gallons of stormwater per second. It will 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.