City awarded $300K for water main repairs
Credit: Cumberland Times-News, Greg Larry
U.S. Rep. David Trone and Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (all D-Md.) announced Tuesday that the grant was awarded through the Appalachian Regional Commission.
According to a news release, “The project will replace 4,300 linear feet of water main in the Decatur Heights neighborhood and provide water service to the Baltimore Street and Cumberland Plaza areas of the city, improving water service to 29 businesses and 111 households.”
Jeff Rhodes, Cumberland city administrator, said the project involves a 24-inch main.
“It’s the crosstown main, which we have had so many problems with,” said Rhodes. “It has ruptured a number of times and 24 inches is a lot of water. When it goes, it does a lot of damage. It blows out the street and floods things. So we are very pleased to hear of the funding and thank our officials.”
The water main, according to Rhodes, runs from Baltimore Avenue northwest beneath Decatur Street, under Frederick and Bedford streets to Independence Street.
The main burst in 2014 and again in 2017, causing damage to the streets and some buildings in the area, including businesses.
“It’s a big line. This funding is for one piece of it,” said Rhodes. “The project will be roughly $3 million when complete, so hopefully that funding along with the other funding we have will be able to eliminate the problem. It’s critical to the water system to get that fixed.”
The project is expected to go to bid in the coming weeks with work to begin later this year.
