The block of East 26th Street in Charles Village that collapsed a year ago — sending cars, streetlights and the sidewalk tumbling onto railroad tracks — remains under construction, though city officials said they have nearly finished the repairs.
The city has constructed a new reinforced concrete wall with "anchors that go down into bedrock," said William Johnson, director of Baltimore's Transportation Department. The wall was being painted Thursday — one year to the day after the collapse.
The city needs to resurface the street, said Johnson, who expects the work will be completed sometime next month.
"We appreciate all of the residents for their patience," Johnson said. "If you're not used to having to deal with these types of projects it can seem like it's taking forever, but compared to some other major projects — we consider this a major, major infrastructure project — it's been done very quickly."
Jim Zitzer, who lives on the street, said the whole ordeal has been "pretty discouraging," with one delay after another, and he doesn't much trust city estimates about when the work will be finished.
"There's a million excuses about the weather: it's too cold, too hot, too windy; the old story that a truck broke down; whatever," he said. "They tell us that things are going to be done and they're not, and we write an email to someone and their spokesman says, 'We're doing the best we can.' Well, I don't really believe that."
Last year, much of the street between St. Paul and North Charles streets collapsed into CSX Transportation's parallel railroad cut after intense rains undermined the stability of a stone wall that was more than 100 years old.
The dramatic collapse, in front of a row of pastel-colored rowhouses, was captured on a resident's cell phone video that drew national media attention. Residents said they had long complained to the city about the street slowly sinking into itself. They have also demanded that the city provide compensation for the inconvenience caused by the collapse.
The residents were forced to evacuate their homes after the collapse and weren't allowed to return until June. The city provided food, housing and transportation assistance.
The city negotiated with CSX over the cost of the collapse and repairs, as the wall straddles a city street and a railroad right-of-way, and the railroad agreed to pay half of the costs.
The city initially estimated the work would cost about $18 million, but on Thursday, Johnson said the total would be closer to $12 million or $13 million.
The city still expects CSX to pay for half, though Johnson said he didn't know if any payments have been made on invoices the city has sent to the company. "There's been no indication that they intend to do anything but honor their commitment, so I think we're good," he said.
Rob Doolittle, a CSX spokesman, said the company "is 100 percent committed to our obligations to assist the city in completing and paying for the repairs to that wall."
The company and the city also agreed to face any litigation together.
Zitzer said the residents of 19 homes on the street are represented by three different attorneys.
"We expect some kind of compensation," he said, blaming the city and CSX alike. "It's been known for years that the street was going to cave in."
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