Community Corner

Preview Retaining Wall Plan

The department of public works is working with St. Paul's Church on a rehabbed retaining wall.

Residents interested in a preview of how the county will rebuild the retaining wall that collapsed last fall can get a sneak peek next week. 

The department of public works will preview the plan it is developing on Tuesday, Aug. 21, at the , according to Steve Sharar, chief of transportation and special projects at the department of public works.

The county has allocated $1.25 million to the design and construction of retaining walls that require "prompt action," according to Public Works Deputy Director Mark DeLuca

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About 75 percent of the cost of design and construction of the Mulligans Lane wall is being funded by FEMA, DeLuca said. 

Sharar said that the county is negotiating with on a plan that would ensure the safety of the Dohony Hall building, which sits a few feet from the area where the ground gave in during last September.

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The retaining wall is next to on Mulligans Hill Lane at the intersection of St. Paul Street and Maryland Avenue. The church sits on the hill behind it.

Ghost Town will not be impacted, Sharar said.  

The line dividing the church’s property from county-owned land is a few feet on the church’s side of the wall, Sharar said.

“It would be inappropriate at this time to disclose the details of those negotiations,” Sharar wrote in an email. “Once we reach an agreement, we will then finalize the design and present the suggested solution to the Historic District Commission and the County’s Public Works Board, TBD.”

One aspect of the new design will require that the county lose a couple of parking spaces adjacent to the wall. During Lee, the wall collapsed on those spaces, crushing four cars.

Sharar said that the county is “actively looking at opportunities to replace those spaces that would be lost.”

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