Heather Curtis
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON (WMAL) – It’s been non-stop work repairing Main Street Ellicott City following devastating flooding in late May.

The Howard County Department of Public Works has been focusing on repairing the road, sidewalks, utility infrastructure and according to the department’s director Jim Irvin. He anticipates temporary repairs will be finished by the end of this week.

Even though the damage is more severe than it was after flooding in 2016, according to Irvin, the work and repair methods are similar. They have developed a system, and he said they’re two to three weeks ahead of where they were last time.

“The primary emphasis is to get the road, Main Street itself, open to traffic and for the residents to be able to get back in and start the repair process to their buildings,” said Irvin.

With so many resources going to repairing flood damage Irvin said routine maintenance, including storm drain repairs, has been put on the back burner.

After the May 27th storm, the department received more than 300 work requests. Irvin said those that deal with safety issues are being handled first.

“We’re working as fast as we can to get the city back on its feet, and I think we’ve made good progress,” Irvin said.

But with lots of work left to go, Irvin hopes residents will be patient.

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