Skip to main content

The Big Boom


 

Did you hear it? Well, it depends on where you live. No, I don’t mean last night’s rain or any local fireworks. I mean this: 

Ellicott City Safe and Sound

Please be advised that blasting will occur between 9:00 and 11:00 AM on Tuesday, December 31st, at the North Tunnel construction site located in the 8800 block of Frederick Road. During this time period, there will be an approximately 10 minute stoppage of traffic.

The Howard County Police Department will be on site to assist in diverting traffic around the site during the brief closure. Once the blast is complete, the road will be reopened immediately thereafter.

I haven’t seen any comments on social media about yesterday’s blast but I can tell you that WBALTV News is on top of this story. Holy mackerel, are they ever.

Historic Ellicott City residents hear big 'booms' as part of flood mitigation plan, Kim Dacey, WBALTV News

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. —

Residents in and around historic Ellicott City may have heard a big "boom" Tuesday morning.

The blast was all part of the county's project to dig a tunnel under Main Street as part of the flood mitigation plan.

Do you want to know about yesterday’s blast? They’ve got that.

Do you want to know about the Safe and Sound Plan? They’ve got that.

Do you want to know the history of the Ellicott City floods? They’ve got that. 

I’m not kidding. All the information you could possibly want on this topic is laid out as a part of this article and includes all the necessary links. Did I check them all out? At five in the morning on New Year’s Day? No. But it does appear to be a very useful resource. 

So - - did you hear the Big Boom? If so, you may rightly claim that 2024 went out with a bang. For the rest of us it may have been more like a whimper, but, your mileage may vary, as the young folks say.

Happy New Year! 

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

Columbia Chance Connection

  Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!”  We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...
Post a Comment
Read more