Why a change to Baltimore’s road paving policy is costing millions

At a July meeting of Baltimore’s planning commission, officials were breezing through a seemingly boring list of approvals when a commissioner raised a question: Why did the cost of a water main replacement project in Upper Fells Point and Canton balloon from $15 million to $25 million? The answer, according to city staff, was largely due to a policy change made two years earlier by the Department of Transportation that requires entire blocks to be repaved if contractors or city workers dig up more than half of the roadway.