113 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio, 7/16/17:
 

Federal Transit Administration joins the effort to get Purple Line plans moving

 

 

WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration has joined the Maryland Transit Administration in an appeals case in efforts to get the Purple Line project moving ahead.

 

The FTA and MTA are appealing a judge’s ruling requiring a new environmental study of the Purple Line project.

 

Purple Line NOW Vice President Greg Sanders tells WTOP it is good to have the FTA join MTA in this legal battle.

 

He says FTA experts have already weighed in in favor of the Purple Line and concluded that a delay is not necessary, and they don’t need to do additional studies.

 

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[Sloan]

 

 

Appeals Court Breathes New Life Into D.C. Light Rail

 

WASHINGTON (CN) – After several months of setbacks that nearly killed the $2.5 billion Purple Line light rail, the D.C. Circuit revived the project Wednesday by staying a federal judge’s ruling blocking construction based on ridership and safety issues.

http://www.courthous...d-c-light-rail/

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 7/19/17:

Court ruling paves way for Purple Line construction to begin

 

A federal appeals court ruling on Wednesday will allow Maryland to begin building the Purple Line while a lawsuit opposing it continues, clearing the way for the state to pursue federal funding for a light-rail project that has faced nearly a year of legal delays.

 

In a major victory for the state, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reinstated the Purple Line’s environmental approval, which a lower-court judge had revoked last year, while the legal case continues.

 

The ruling allows the state to try to secure $900 million in federal grants for the line’s $2 billion construction while Maryland’s attorney general appeals an earlier ruling in the 2014 lawsuit seeking to block it.

 

Maryland officials have said construction on the 16-mile line between Montgomery and Prince George’s counties could begin within a few weeks of receiving a federal funding commitment.

 

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[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio 7/26/17:
 

Montgomery County Council nudges along revived Purple Line project

 

 

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Montgomery County Council members approved a measure to allow the state to build and operate the Purple Line light rail project on county land.

 

Tuesday’s move allows the Maryland Transit Administration to build on a 3-mile stretch that runs between Silver Spring and downtown Bethesda along the Georgetown Branch Trail. The council took the action on the last legislative day before a seven-week recess.

 

Also on Tuesday: Members of Maryland’s Congressional delegation sent a letter to the Federal Transit Administration urging the agency to sign on to a funding agreement with the Maryland Transit Administration.  .  .  .

 

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[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio 8/3/17:
 

With legal fight still raging, work picks up on the Purple Line

 

 

WASHINGTON — Work is picking up again on Maryland’s Purple Line even as the state waits to sign a final agreement with the federal government that would provide about $900 million required for the project to move forward.

 

“With a clear path forward, there are no plans to scale back pre-construction work,” said Maryland Department of Transportation Director Erin Henson in an email. Now, the state and the private companies designing and building the line are resuming preliminary work for about five years of full construction.

 

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[Sloan]

From NARP 11-10-2017

 

If you live in D.C. or Maryland and plan to take the Purple Line once it opens, now is your opportunity to voice your thoughts on how the line should connect to other stations. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is asking for rider feedback on connecting the Purple Line to stations at Bethesda and Silver Spring in Maryland. The transit agency released multiple layouts and designs for connecting the stations, and riders are able to review and comment. Plans include:

• Bethesda: An underground Metro station to be connected with the Purple Line station, which will sit just below street level, via three elevators next to the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and Elm Street. A staircase would be built as well. Metro riders also will be able to access the elevators at street level.

• Silver Spring: The Purple Line platform would connect with the above-ground Metro station via a new elevated walkway connected to the upper level of the Silver Spring Transit Center, a bus depot that sits between the Purple Line’s planned route and the Metrorail tracks. The elevated walkway would be covered with a canopy structure and include a set of escalators and a connection to the MARC train platform, which is next to the Metrorail tracks.

Metro is asking riders for feedback through 5 p.m. on December 15 using the following online survey. Metro is scheduled to host an open house on December 5 at 5:30 p.m. at its headquarters at 600 Fifth St. NW in Washington, D.C., to discuss the planned connections. Construction on the Purple Line began in August and is scheduled to be completed in 2022. Once built, it will stretch from Bethesda to New Carrollton in Prince George’s County and include 21 stations.

 

[CNJRoss]

Purple Line Transit Partners email 6/1/18:

 

 

 

Long Branch area: June 1, 2018

 

 

Night Work for Plymouth Tunnel Excavation



Starting June 6, 2018, excavation begins for the Plymouth Tunnel. This work will require 24-hour shifts, Monday-Friday within the Arliss St. work zone. No weekend work is planned.

 

 

 

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 9/14/18:
 

As Purple Line construction ramps up, so do disruptions and complaints

 

Massive pieces of bracing have been erected to hold up the temporary retaining walls outside of the Plymouth Avenue tunnel being built. It's part of the construction underway on Maryland's light-rail Purple Line, between downtown Bethesda and the New Carrollton Metro station. (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post)

 

 

 

In the middle of the night, as most of the D.C. suburbs are sleeping, construction workers are excavating a tunnel beneath eastern Silver Spring.

 

During the day in downtown Bethesda, other workers are digging — and soon will begin blasting — a massive elevator shaft alongside busy Wisconsin Avenue.

 

In College Park, students walking to class at the University of Maryland navigate rows of orange construction barrels in the heart of campus.

SNIP

 

Carla Julian, spokeswoman for the team of companies designing and building the line, said project officials are “very sympathetic” to residents beginning to complain about vibrations and loud noise. She said workers have remained within noise and vibration limits set in the contract with the Maryland Transit Administration.

 

Even so, Julian said, “We’re constantly monitoring that. Unfortunately, it’s such an urban area that we’re right on top of people.”

 

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[CNJRoss]

AP via WTOP radio 10/18/18:
 

Residents say overnight Purple Line tunneling disrupts sleep

 

 

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Maryland Transit Administration officials say they will not prohibit overnight excavation for the Purple Line, despite complaints from residents.

 

The Washington Post reports around 30 Montgomery County residents attended a public meeting Tuesday, asking for a stop to the overnight work they say is disrupting their sleep. The MTA’s Mike Madden expressed sympathy, but said the 24-hour construction is necessary to stay on schedule.

 

SNIP

 

Purple Line contractor spokeswoman Carla Julian says one resident stayed in a hotel at the project’s expense, but other residents say that’s impractical.

 

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[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio 2/28/19:
 

WATCH: Crews complete Purple Line tunnel dig

 

 

A breakthrough has come for the Purple Line project — literally.

 

The Bethesda-to-New Carrollton rail line hit a milestone Thursday as crews broke down the last barrier between a short section of tunnel and the site of a future station in Silver Spring, Maryland. The breakthrough came after a huge hammering machine took down concrete support columns that had been in place during the tunnel’s construction.

 

The 1,000-foot tunnel, running from Arliss Street to Wayne Avenue, was needed because a hill in the area was too steep for trains to climb.

 

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