September 19th, 2022 by WCBC Radio

In 2014 when the Baltimore Street Access project was first brought to the table for serious discussion by the city council- the estimated price tag was in the $3.5 to $5 million range. The latest projections by the city’s engineering department are in the $10 million plus category- with the city setting aside $12.5 million through a variety of funding sources.  The speculation and guesstimates will be replaced by reality Wednesday afternoon at City Hall when contractor bids for the project to renovate the downtown mall will be opened. The renovations planned for the downtown mall include replacing underground utility lines and installing high-capacity broadband fiber before reinstalling Baltimore Street through the pedestrian mall and adding an updated streetscape with trees, flowers and shrubs. During his recent visit to Cumberland, Congressman David Trone came away impressed after viewing renderings of what the completed project will look like…