Happy New Year!

As has become tradition for Purple Line NOW News, this edition highlights our annual Top Ten List! Every year, we put our heads together to come up with the top ten stories that had an impact on or around the Purple Line corridor. With all of the construction and activity, the closures (big sigh), the re-openings (yay!), and tracks being laid -- so many tracks! -- there were a lot of items that could have made the list. Keep on reading to see which ones we chose!

Before we jump into the list, we wanted to alert you that we will be sending out a blast later this week with a message from our President, Ralph Bennett, as well as an update on how we fared during our matching campaign as the year closed out. Please keep an eye out for it.

Wishing you a very happy New Year and a big thank you from all of us here at Purple Line NOW!

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Our Top Ten Purple Line Stories from 2024!

We had so many stories from which to choose this year, it was hard to narrow the list down to a mere ten. Without further ado, and in no particular order, we offer up these items which we deemed most impactful for the Purple Line! (Make sure to catch some honorable mentions at the end of the list we simply couldn't overlook in this monumental year!)

1) Kicking off the list with a biggie! The announcement came in December from the project's team, the Purple Line project is 73% done -- almost three quarters of the way to opening day! 

2) Canopies going up along the corridor at many of the future stations surely deserves a place on our Top Ten list! A visual and public sign of progress, beauty, and character, these canopies represent a smidge of what these future stations will look like, how the art-in-transit for each may be captured, and how it all comes together with the tracks and station facilities.

Photo Courtesy of MDOT MTA

3) Who can forget the summer Red Line Shutdown?! The shutdown, which was necessary to complete for Purple Line work, but serendipitously, also led to a Bus-Only Lane pilot program, which the state has agreed to make permanent on Colesville and Georgia Avenue. We were also tickled to see the re-opening happen on time (and not a moment too soon!)

4) Not every item on our Top Ten list is a happy one and the cost increases on the project certainly is one of them, even while necessary, to get the project completed without further delay. In March, the Maryland Board of Public Works unanimously approved an additional $425 million for the Purple Line construction and a delay of the project start until December 2027 due to rising costs during the pandemic, a recent contract for the connection to the Bethesda mezzanine, and the necessary funds to complete the massive utility work. Oversight continues with regard to construction on the project. In December, additional funds were requested due to an overlooked insurance contract after which the Maryland Board of Public Works approved the new increases in a divided vote and warned against unexpected costs increases.

5) On September 4, Purple Line NOW hosted a forum featuring Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld, MTA Senior Project Director Ray Biggs II, Purple Line Transit Partner CEO Doran Bosso,  Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass, and Prince George’s Councilmember Eric Olson. It was a terrific evening and a chance for our community to ask questions directly to the team building the Purple Line.

6) We surely count the arrival of the first Purple Line rail cars as one of the major highlights of the year! We were honored to attend the unveiling event at the new Operations and Maintenance Facility in Glenridge and watch so many years of hard work in the form of a very pretty (and huge) rail car come to life! What an awesome and memorable day it was!

(L-R): PLN President, Ralph Bennett; Montgomery County Councilmember Kate Stewart; PLN Executive Director, Christine Scott; PLN Treasurer, Tina Slater; Montgomery County Council President, Evan Glass; PLN Executive Committee Member, Barbara Sanders; Donna Nelson; PLN Vice President, Greg Sanders

7) There are many areas along the corridor that could be singled-out this year as an example of the phenomenal progress crews have been making, but we think the Kenilworth flyover ramp deserves a spot on the list as a visual representation of how quickly the landscape is changing and how close these areas are to the finish line!

Photo courtesy of MDOT MTA

8) At the University of Maryland, embedded track was laid on campus drive, new sidewalks were finished, a bi-directional bike path was added, and a colorful canopy at the Student Union made its debut!  (Diamondback, October 11, 2024). And, Campus Drive re-opened!

9) We'll never forget one of the first major public milestones for the project which happened back in the spring, but still brings smiles when we revisit photos from the event! On May 24, the Talbot Avenue Bridge reopened with a ceremonial crossing by Patricia Tyson and other longtime Lyttonsville residents! The original bridge historically connected an African American community to the range of amenities in Silver Spring and it was awesome to watch its reopening! (Moco360, Source of the Spring, NBC4, WJLA, WTOP)

10) And, finally, this year, with all the progress we have seen, we must take a moment to salute the dedicated and determined crews who show up every day in the hot summer months and the freezing temps to deliver this world-class project. By March they had laid over 17,000 linear feet of track and by late fall, over 10 miles have been completed! We are grateful to them for their hard work on behalf of our community.

"Purple Line Construction" by local artist Chris Luckman

So many worthy items could easily have made the list, including the revitalized Baltimore Red Line project, the Beyond the Rails community grant Purple Line NOW received from the Purple Line Transit Partners last January that helped us continue this newsletter and bring the terrific forum to you last fall, along with the Rivertech Court opening earlier than slated, 17 miles of sidewalks completed, and 19 stations under construction! We are so excited to head into the new year and can't wait to see what 2025 brings!

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