Howard and Anne Arundel would have to pay $500,000 to determine whether unexploded explosives are buried at a former artillery test site for a planned bus depot and remove them, as the counties seek to improve transit for the increase in employees coming to Fort Meade.
“Anytime you deal with a military site, you have to deal with things that might go boom or might go boom underground,” said Carl Balser, Howard chief of the division of transportation planning.
“If we move ahead with the site, it?s something we?ll have to explore.”
The bus depot, which is expected to connect all local bus services to Fort Meade, would be built on the Tipton Airport property, south of the fort in Odenton.
Airport Manager Michael Wassel said he was aware of the potential for buried explosives on the property.
“Anytime we disturb earth, we have to screen for explosives,” he said.
Hiring a specialist to find any explosives is estimated to cost about $250,000, Balser said.
Removing the explosives could bring the cost of the entire project to as much as $500,000, said Bob Leib, Anne Arundel?s Base Realignment and Closure coordinator.
“It is such an unknown thing with an unknown budget impact,” he said.
The Federal Transit Administration could pay for much of the depot?s design and construction, but local governments would have to pay for the study and removal of any explosives, Balser said.
Leib said the depot is “integral” to the region?s mass transit system and will be built.
The idea of a bus depot is timely and would be a good economic move because it?s a joint venture with Anne Arundel and would create a hub for bus maintenance, said Sharonlee Vogel, chairwoman of Transportation Advocates, a Howard advocacy group for residents.
In the next five to 10 years, Fort Meade is preparing for about 22,000 new jobs, said Kent Menser, executive director of Howard County?s BRAC office.
“The transit facility is one of many components of preparing for transportation needs that this growth is going to require,” he said.
Staff Writer Jason Flanagan contributed to this report.
