What's Happening in Catonsville, MD…

A popular biking/hiking trail closes for several months as of today so that repairs can be made.

In July 2016, a flood washed out part of the Number Nine Trolley Trail in Catonsville, as well as doing a lot of damage to the nearby community of Ellicott City. The portion due for closure is a wooden walkway 600 feet long at the path's western end, near Westchester Avenue.

As officials investigated the flood damage, they found a manhole was causing problems with the walkway. Repairs were started on the manhole on April 10.

The trail itself was begun in 1991 on the line of the trolley that ran between Ellicott City and Catonsville. It is part of Catonsville's Rails to Trails program, which is a nonprofit organization that promotes the conversion of abandoned railroad rights-of-way to hiking trails.

The repairs to the trail were supposed to be finished in one month during the past winter, but when the problems with the manhole were discovered, it made the entire process much longer. As a result, the work will have to be done at a time of the year when people would like to have access to the trail.

The trail is expected to reopen by August 11. Projects like this can benefit if officials work with a flyer printing company to create a mailer for area residents, describing the scope of work and the schedule.