Water Main and Montrose Road Digging Information
The mystery contstruction project that left the mess on Montrose Road on the hill below the Maryland State Police Barracks, and the trenching project along Montrose Road can finally be explained. The dialog below has been shared with us by our neighor Bill Wydro of the the Regenct Estates Citizens' Association:
The Maryland State Police Barrack 'N' is located on the hill at Seven Locks and Montrose roads. It has a sewer line, but no water supply (their well water is contaminated) and must ship in any water it needs. In the fall of 2001, the Maryland State Department of General Services (DGS) proposed a project to supply the barracks with public water by installing a water line along Montrose Road to a water main under Seven Locks, and connecting the barracks to it. The first construction began in July of 2003. After excavating the hillside along Montrose from Seven Locks to the police barracks driveway, the contractor encountered rock, and suspended the project in the fall of 2003, without restoring the embankment (leaving it resembling a strip mine), and also leaving a metal patch plate on Seven Locks. Eventually the contractor abandoned the project altogether. After an extended series of inquires and complaints from RECA, DGS replaced the metal plate with an asphalt patch, but did nothing to improve the embankment. The design was revised, put out for bid more than once, and finally a contractor was identified at the beginning of March 2005. The state Board of Public Works approved the project on March 31, allowing 3 months for project completion for a cost of just under $350,000.
A separate but related project was undertaken the last week of February 2005, to supply the Park Potomac development (projected 150 townhouses, 480 condo's, and commercial buildings) with water. According to Ann Russel, a planner with WSSC, the pressure in the water main under Seven Locks is not sufficient for the development. The Park Potomac developers laid pipe along Montrose from a water main that crosses Montrose several hundred feet farther west of the Police Barracks (slightly to the west of White’s Ford Way) down to the Police Barracks driveway. They are dependent on DGS completing the connection from the driveway to the water main under Seven Locks. The developers will continue the new pipe from Seven Locks eastward along Montrose to the Park Potomac site.
Below are answers I received from DGS about the Police Barracks water project:
What is involved in this project?
Installation of underground water lines to the barrack and the interior piping connections.
Why did alternative action take so long after rock was discovered?
Limited resources. The bids were postponed three times due to lack of interest or lack of knowledge. The new design had to be reviewed and approved by various departments, agencies
What will be done to aesthetically restore the embankment that has been excavated?
The embankment will be restored to the condition prior to start of construction plus the addition of some trees.
Was the same company hired to complete the revised project?
Icaboni was a subcontractor to Emjay Engineering and Construction on the original project. Icaboni was the low bidder on the current project.
How has the project changed since it was abandoned a year and a half ago and what caused the delays?
The project was never abandoned. The scope remains the same which is installation of a public water line to the State Police Barrack. The exact location of the line has changed somewhat due to the location of underground rock formations. The piping was repositioned into areas along the curb line. There were required approvals for that work from WSSC-Montgomery County which had to be procured. The State had to locate the funding for the design changes and the additional costs for the project. Resources are very limited.
There is a major development underway across the street (Park Potomac). Why wasn't the Police project coordinated with the water main work that took place for the townhouse development there?
That is a private project not under the jurisdiction of the State of Maryland Department of General Services. WSSC is in control of the water main and where it is installed.
Does the water main being tapped into go under Seven Locks Road? What size pipes will come off the main and go to the barracks?
Yes. The size meets the requirements of the Barrack and WSSC.