Ellicott City Begins Repairs To Retaining Wall Damaged By Train Derailment

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WJZ) Repairs started Monday for a crumbled retaining wall in historic Ellicott City, damaged by a train derailment last year.

Christie Ileto has details on the project moving forward.

Construction crews are removing rocks holding up the embankment of the railroad tracks in historic downtown Ellicott City Monday. Part of the wall collapsed when a CSX train derailed last August, killing two teenage girls standing on the railway bridge when the cars overturned.

Its necessary. Right now, the way the wall has been stabilized since the train took a piece of the wall down, its just a rock slope, said Department of Public Works Deputy Director Mark Deluca.

Howard County Public Works says thats not a permanent fix, as a portion of the spaces arent usable.

The rock is stable. but its only a temporary condition, said Deluca.

Right now, construction workers are getting ready to haul of hundreds of rocks to make way for a 157-foot-long, 13-foot-high concrete wall.

Normally, we would park here and now we park across the river, which is kind of an inconveniencenot for us but more so for our clients, said Sheila Plein.

The project, funded by CSX, closes Parking Lot B in the heart of downtown, forcing some businesses to find other parking accommodations.

Its great that Howard County is on it and fixing what needs to be fixed, said Plein.

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Ellicott City Begins Repairs To Retaining Wall Damaged By Train Derailment