In today's edition of Purple Line NOW News, here's what you'll find:

• What's Happening at PLN?
  • Next Purple Line Forum
  • Thank You for Continuing to Support PLN
• Happening Along the Purple Line Corridor
  • Spring Community Advisory Teams Meetings
  • Election Day is May 14!
  • State of Maryland Disparity Study
• Construction Updates and Project Features
  • Riverdale/New Carrollton and Silver Spring Community Advisory Team Meeting Highlights

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WHAT'S HAPPENING AT PLN?

Next Purple Line NOW Forum

Thanks to a grant from the Purple Line Transit Partners, Purple Line NOW will continue our popular Envisioning the Purple Line Forum series this year! We are busy pulling together an educational and informative event and will announce the panel of speakers and date soon. As always, our events are free and open to the public and media, so keep an eagle eye out for the big announcement!

Thank You for Your Continuing Support!

Our need is ongoing - we operate on a budget between $20,000 and $25,000 each year, so please know that your donation in any amount is welcome and necessary for us to continue our work. You can easily donate by clicking the Purple "Donate" button below. Not sure if you've given in the past twelve months? Check our website to see if your name is listed. Thank you from all of us here at Purple Line NOW!

HAPPENING ALONG THE PURPLE LINE CORRIDOR

Spring Community Advisory Teams Meetings Left:

Please click on the website to find information on how to join the meeting. You will find the presentation videos for those CATs which have already occurred at the website, as well.

May 9 University Boulevard, 6:00 p.m.

May 14 Bethesda/Chevy Chase, 6:00 p.m.

May 16 College Park, 6:00 p.m.

May 21 Lyttonsville, 6:00 p.m.

May 23 Long Branch, 6:00 p.m.

Election Day is May 14 in Maryland

A friendly reminder to put May 14 on your calendar -- or better yet, vote early or by mail! You can get all the election information details here from how to register, how to request a mail-in ballot, and where your polling place is for Maryland's Presidential Primary and State Primary next month.

State of Maryland Disparity Study

The State of Maryland is conducting a comprehensive Utilization and Availability Study, led by MGT Consulting Group. The overall purpose of the Disparity Study is to determine whether there is racial and/or gender business discrimination in the markets in which the State does business – both public and private sectors. The State is "encouraging ALL business owners to provide information about their experiences, particularly with respect to discrimination, while doing business or attempting to do business with the State of Maryland and other public or private entities in Maryland’s market area. We hope that all firms, not just certified firms, will participate." If you are interested in completing the survey, visit this link.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES & PROJECT FEATURES

Riverdale/New Carrollton and Silver Spring Community Advisory Team Meeting Highlights

We encourage you to view the presentations which are posted shortly after the meetings are held for your respective community. Presenters for each meeting offer lots of slides to help us better understand the work completed and the planned work coming up in the near future, and most importantly, which roads and/or services will be closed when construction warrants.

Below are a few highlights from each meeting, but again, we encourage you to watch the videos so that you can be as prepared as possible for what is going on in your neighborhood or on your commute as it pertains to Purple Line construction. You also might enjoy this video of the construction progress shown in a new before and after video of the Purple Line’s Riverdale Park-Kenilworth Station.

The Riverdale/New Carrollton Community Advisory Team (CAT) meeting was held on May 2 and included updates on construction happening on many of the roads in and around a variety of neighborhoods and main thoroughfares. Rivertech Court at River Road will be closed from June 15 through August 25 for track installation. Although for many enduring these closures on a daily basis construction might seem endless, seeing tracks going down certainly makes the detours easier to digest!

Another highlight from this CAT is that work on the test track at the Glenridge Operations & Maintenance facility is expected to be completed by 2024.

Canopies and station platforms at the Riverdale Park North-UMD Station have been completed

For those living and working in and around Silver Spring, we gently nudge you to have a look at the presentation at the link above. Silver Spring's Community Advisory Team meeting was held on May 7 and the Purple Line team shared a trainload (!) of information on a variety of detours, road closures, and the upcoming summer closure of the Silver Spring Station. While work on the Purple Line requires the station to be closed for several months, Metro has coordinated with MTA to schedule additional improvements and upgrades instead of multiple disruptive closures in the future.

Additionally, the Spring Street Bridge will be closed from June 2024 until January 2025, as well as detours and road closures around Wayne Avenue and Dale Drive and Sligo Creek.

During the meeting, the team explained that the intersection at Wayne and Dale will be open, but you will only be able to make right hand turns in all directions beginning on June 14  through Aug 24 or so. You will not be able to cross from southbound Dale to eastbound Wayne toward Long Branch OR from northbound Dale to westbound Wayne toward Silver Spring. SimiIarly, westbound Wayne toward Silver Spring cannot turn left onto southbound Dale or eastbound Wayne to northbound Dale (towards Colesville). Most importantly, you will not be able to cross Wayne on Dale Drive. See the slide show at the link to learn of alternatives for getting around this busy intersection during this time.

It comes as no surprise to any who have been following along that a large portion of what is currently happening along the alignment has been utility relocation work. You'll remember that the State took this work on when the first contractor walked off the job, but ran behind schedule in implementing those relocations. It has only been in recent months that they were able to hand off the finished work back to the new consortium.

Utility relocation goes well beyond making sure the trains have reliable power and the area under the track is stable. It also involves stormwater management, which ties into those large tubes you have probably seen at the side of the road throughout the corridor. The Purple Line project has meant the entire right-of-way has undergone a significant upgrade to get up to code.

The project is now more than the 65% completed for the overall project (we are over the half-way mark!) and at 86.8% for utility relocation. Trackwork is visible at many points throughout the right-of-way, which is so exciting and helps all of us envision what is to be in just a few years' time. We are anxiously awaiting the opening of the Talbot Avenue Bridge! 

This summer will be rough for everyone who lives and works within the Purple Line corridor with highly disruptive closures throughout our communities. But, a drive along the alignment keeps us hopeful and energized as do your photos! Send us some snaps of Purple Line progress happening in your neck of the woods!

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