New Video Details Purple Line Project Progress
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
An update on the Maryland Purple Line.
Maryland Purple Line
BALTIMORE - In a video, Maryland Purple Line Senior Project Director Ray Biggs II gives a progress update on the Purple Line project.
The 4-minute video (below) gives riders a look at the current construction of the Purple Line project. Senior Project Director Ray Biggs II said the past year has been “one of transformation.” As of reporting, construction is more than 80% complete. Biggs continued, “Track has been installed across prince Georges county with more than 75% of track complete across the entire project.”
Throughout the last year, crews have also installed overhead catenary system poles. In addition, the poles have been “energized,” meaning they are ready to power light rail vehicles (LRVs). More than 20 roadways are completed, “including the complex intersection of Wayne avenue and Fenton street.”
RT&S recently reported on the LRV testing that has taken place overnight. This process was expanded as the first LRV traversed Annapolis Road from the Glenridge Operations and Maintenance Facility. Testing will expand westward, the Maryland Purple Line says.
At stations along the line, crews installed canopies and benches as well as worked on art and transit installations. A second Operations and Maintenance Facility (OMF) is underway in Lintensville. This OMF will support LRVs with “an additional control and communications facility and a smaller maintenance facility located in Montgomery County.”
In Bethesda, the completion of blasting is another “major milestone,” according to the Maryland Purple Line. Crews have spent years excavating the area, and the shaft 150 feet underground is now finished. Subsequently, crews “are now focused on waterproofing and concrete work, building out the cavern and elevator spaces.”
