Sections of Sligo Creek Parkway in Silver Spring will temporarily close starting in September to make way for Purple Line construction, according to Montgomery Parks.
The Purple Line, a 16-mile light-rail line that will run from New Carrollton to Bethesda and be operated by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), is slated to be complete in late 2027. Closing part of the road will allow the project’s construction team to install light rail tracks along Wayne Avenue and reconstruct the road’s intersection with Sligo Creek Parkway, according to a Montgomery Parks release.
According to a Purple Line release, during the closure traffic will travel on one lane in each direction on Wayne Avenue.
“Work in this area is a critical part of progressing track installation and continuing the Purple Line toward revenue service. We are grateful for the collaboration and partnership with Montgomery Parks as we continue the momentum on the Purple Line,” said Ray Biggs II, MTA senior project director for the Purple Line.
Beginning on or about Sept. 16, the north side of the parkway from Schuyler Road to Wayne Avenue will be closed to vehicles until November, the release said. The 5.6-mile parkway runs from University Boulevard to New Hampshire Avenue and parallel to portions of the Sligo Creek Trail.
Montgomery Parks and the Purple Line news releases did not provide the exact date for the reopening of the road.
While construction is underway, the Sligo Creek trail is expected to remain open but there may be some short-term closures for trail improvements, the release stated. In December, the trail will be closed for four weeks for repaving.
Montgomery Parks Director Miti Figueredo said in the release that the temporary parkway closure will allow the intersection to be completed in a shorter amount of time while allowing the parks department to improve the road and trail in the area.
“We think parkway and trail users will be pleased with the result,” Figueredo said.
During the construction, vehicular traffic and pedestrian detour signs will be posted around the work zones. Here is a map of the closures and detours:
After construction on the north side of Wayne Avenue is completed, a southbound portion of the road running from Piney Branch Road to Wayne Avenue will close next spring.
Montgomery Parks officials did not provide a time frame for the spring closure but said each parkway closure is expected to last approximately two months. Updates will be provided as the work progresses, according to the release.
Next summer, the trail from Piney Branch Road to the Dale Drive Neighborhood Park bridge over Sligo Creek will close for four weeks for repaving. According to the release, the time frame is dependent on construction progress and updates will be provided by Montgomery Parks.
Construction on the Purple Line began in 2017. In March, the Purple Line completion was pushed back from the spring of 2027 to December of that year. Since the project’s inception, construction of the light-rail line has faced numerous delays and rising costs that are nearing $10 billion.
In May the project marked an important milestone with the opening of the Talbot Avenue Bridge in Silver Spring after roughly seven years of closure. The bridge is near the future Lyttonsville Purple Line station.
Shortly after, the Spring Street Bridge in Silver Spring closed in June for Purple Line construction and is not expected to reopen until 2025. During the closure, the existing bridge, paved for vehicle traffic over rail tracks, will be demolished and Purple Line crews will build a new span, according to MDOT.
In July, the Maryland Department of Transportation and the Purple Line project team unveiled the first Purple Line vehicle at a press conference in Prince George’s County. Each light-rail vehicle measures 142 feet, the longest of its kind in the nation, according to MDOT.
At the time, Maryland transit officials said the project was more than 65% complete, “with thousands of feet of rail track installed and 16 of 21 stations currently under construction.”