BOWLEYS QUARTERS,  MD—A sewer line replacement project began in the Bowleys Quarters area this week with little notice, snarling traffic along a main artery and leaving residents seeing red.

Crews began replacing a 24-inch sewer line along Carroll Island Road on Thursday, creating a massive traffic backup that left many Bowleys Quarters residents feeling trapped in their own neighborhood.

Local Facebook groups were full of residents complaining that there was no good way to get in or out of their community on Thursday.  One user even jokingly posted their Facebook status as, “Marked safe from the the great (Bowleys Quarters) traffic backup.”

Councilman David Marks reached out to Baltimore County officials on behalf of frustrated community members and received the following reply:

“We are installing a 24” sewer liner which will take over 24 hours to install and cure so there really is no good time to start because the process takes so long. The contractor is flagging traffic and trying to keep up but it’s a difficult situation. Believe me if there was a better way to do this we would have done it. Thanks.”

Councilman Marks said he was surprised at the lack of notice from the county regarding the project.

“(Residents) deserve better notification,” Marks said in a Facebook post. “I am livid at the lackadaisical manner in which a county department treated the Bowleys Quarters community and will likely be filing legislation requiring better notice to County Councilmembers and then the public.”

“I am sorry for today’s backups and hope for a conclusion to this work and better notification in the future,” Councilman Marks concluded.

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