Maryland Purple Line officials shared several construction updates for the greater Silver Spring, Long Branch, and Lyttonsville areas this week.
Georgia Avenue between Thayer Avenue and Wayne Avenue in downtown Silver Spring will be closed overnight through Sunday, September 6, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Access to Bonifant Street will also be closed during this period to safely install overhead catenary wires at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Bonifant Street.
The intersection of Wayne Avenue and Fenton Street will also be closed overnight from September 14 through 25 for catenary wire installation.
Purple Line crews are installing utilities in the sidewalk area along Colesville Road through Friday, September 4. To safely accomplish this work, the pedestrian sidewalk will be temporarily closed, and pedestrians will need to use the detour to the opposite side of Colesville Road.
Crews continue paving Wayne Avenue between Georgia Avenue and Flower Avenue in September, which requires milling the road surface to create a smooth foundation for the asphalt. The operation will require lane closures on Wayne Avenue, and one lane of traffic in each direction will remain open but may have intermittent stoppages by flaggers.
“The team will work day and night to complete the paving operations as soon as possible,” officials said.
The area of Dixon Avenue and Bonifant Street remains closed until October to complete Purple Line system installation on Bonifant Street. Officials said that pedestrian access and access to the parking garage and businesses on Bonifant Street will be maintained.
Meanwhile, construction continues on the long-delayed Spring Street Bridge in downtown Silver Spring. Officials have not provided an updated timeline on when the bridge will reopen, but they noted that the main bridge span is now in place and the new bridge’s deck is installed across the crossing.
The bridge, which is now on a “Summer 2026” reopening timeline, first closed for reconstruction in 2024 and was originally scheduled to reopen in January 2025. The project has faced several delays and challenges, including relocating overhead utilities, constructing a new foundation, and coordinating work with CSX and Metro train schedules.
“Currently, work focuses on constructing the reinforced concrete deck surface, building the embankments and completing approaches to the roadway, tying in the bridge to the surrounding community,” the construction update reads. “Due to necessary coordination with active rail operations, some construction activities may require overnight work to accommodate CSX and WMATA train schedules. Safety remains the project’s highest priority. The Purple Line team encourages all pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists to follow posted signage and traffic control devices while traveling through the area.
“We appreciate the community’s continued patience as this critical connection moves toward completion,” officials said in the construction update.
Additionally, crews are continuing construction along the Capital Crescent Trail, including wall construction, stormwater drainage installation, and other utility work adjacent to the CSX/Metro tracks between Talbot Avenue and the Silver Spring Transit Center in downtown Silver Spring, as well as the Purple Line alignment from Rock Creek to Talbot Avenue. Work may take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and weekends, and periodically as needed.
Construction continues at the Lyttonsville station, as well as the operations and maintenance yard adjacent to the station and the Lyttonsville Place Bridge. Work may take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and weekends, as needed.
Live-wire testing was expanded earlier this summer to trains operating between the Lyttonsville and Bethesda stations. The testing evaluates the line’s overall system functionality, including track integrity and electrical systems, to ensure vehicles operate smoothly.
All 1,187 overhead wire poles have now been installed, and train operators are also testing acceleration and braking at varying speeds during live-wire testing, as well as periodically testing the train’s horn and bell.
Testing first ran overnight from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., then moved to weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and represents the first time the light rail line’s trains have undergone live testing in Montgomery County, Maryland Transit Administration officials said last month.
Additionally, applications are now being accepted for the next round of Beyond the Rails community group and organization grants.
Riverdale Park-based Purple Line Transit Partners launched the program in 2023, and it is designed to benefit a community adjacent to the Purple Line corridor, with grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, an increase from its previous $3,000 limit.
PLTP, which was formed by main partners Meridiam and Tikehau Star Infra, is the Purple Line project’s private-sector partner and sponsors the Beyond the Rails community grant program to give back to the communities where the Purple Line is being constructed and will operate.
Previous grant recipients include SEEC, the Carole Highlands Neighborhood Association, Interfaith Works, One Montgomery Green, and the Sligo Creek Education Foundation, and PLTP said that its grant program will continue to support Purple Line communities for 30 years after the light rail system begins service.
“As a long-time member of the community itself, PLTP sponsors the Beyond the Rails community grant program as a way of giving back to communities in which PLTP, in partnership with MTA, is building the Purple Line and through which it will operate the system for 30 years after opening,” PLTP said at the program’s launch in 2023.
Beyond The Rails grant applications are due by November 30 and are available online on the Purple Line website.
The Maryland Purple Line will connect Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park, and New Carrollton in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, linking to Metro, MARC, Amtrak, and local bus networks, eliminating the need to travel through downtown Washington.
The 16-mile, 21-station light rail project is now more than 90 percent complete, with all track installed as of early May, and is slated to begin service in winter 2027.
Headline Photo: “Silver Spring Train” © Nicholas Krotki – stock.adobe.com