Overview
- Howard County leaders, during a Monday tour 150 feet underground, said the tunnel-boring machine “Rocky” is nearly assembled and will begin excavating this summer.
- The tunnel measures about a mile long and 18 feet across and is built to move more than 26,000 gallons of stormwater each second away from Old Ellicott City.
- Rocky is slated to run 24 hours a day, six days a week at roughly 65 feet per day through granite, with completion targeted for late 2027.
- The county reports more than $350 million is secured for the Safe and Sound program, and three new retention ponds already hold over 13 million gallons.
- Officials describe the tunnel as the plan’s cornerstone after deadly floods in 2011, 2016, and 2018, a history survivors say underscores the need for durable protection.