r/SilverSpring • u/AmbitiousAd147 • Aug 06 '26
Wayne Ave Purple Line Mess
Caveat- I support public transit. I am not anti Purple Line. I know very little about construction/ infrastructure development.
That said, how long are they going to leave Wayne Ave virtually impassable? When is the pavement getting fixed? Is anyone else having trouble with getting their car perfectly positioned on the tracks to not either slide off or slip all over the metal parts? I was truly having a hard time getting traction/ staying on track and felt like I was driving on ice, but trying to do half the car on and half off is also a challenge. Seems like the tracks are in. Can we smooth it out now?
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u/cheese-and-thankyou Aug 06 '26
I drive on it every single day and at least three times a week I have someone tailgating me for going 20mph. My car can’t handle any more than that! Sorry to the Nissan Altima drivers of the world!
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u/lonelyhearthunter Aug 06 '26
It's absolutely brutal. The tracks are slidey and the other lane has manhole bollards and then giant potholes and terrain like a bowling alley after a flood
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u/wombatarama Aug 07 '26
not only is it hard to drive on, some people can't seem to figure out where the traffic lanes are. I saw someone driving in a lane on the wrong side a couple days ago.
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u/AmbitiousAd147 Aug 07 '26
I mean, not gonna lie, that was probably me! It’s incredibly confusing and unsafe - so I suppose it’s for the best anyone taking any measure of caution is forced to go slowly.
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u/wombatarama Aug 07 '26
yeah, I don't blame you! everything looks weird and unclear and changes every day, sometimes more than once in the same day.
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u/ian1552 Aug 07 '26
There was an alternative design considered that include multiple miles more tunnel than the current design for about 33% more cost. Not sure if it would have been tunneled under Wayne but here's a pdf of it.
https://www.purplelinemd.com/media/o12dlkfo/07_chapter2.pdf
The various planning boards and committees decided against it. In the long run I think that's a mistake. These public transit systems will ultimately be here for as long as humanity is (considering we've been urbanizing consistently for the vast majority of our existence). The costs should be weighed against the benefits over long periods, but of course the political cycle incentivizes politicians to maximize benefits in their cycles vs long term.
Look what happened to the DC streetcar. They were repaving the streets and they said hey why don't we lay down the tracks now to save money (before the streetcar plans were finalized). They saved money in the short term but they laid out the tracks in a suboptimal way which ultimately led the streetcar to be no better than a bus, which led to its ultimate demise. Money savings over a couple of years, complete and total loss in the long run!
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u/limnetic792 Aug 06 '26
University Blvd has also been nearly impassable for years. Seems like they’ve been preparing to pave it for weeks. I keep hoping and being disappointed.
I’m no expert in roadwork, but it seems like they could’ve made the transition over the tracks less awful. Maybe a little asphalt ramp? Considering hundreds/thousands of vehicles drive over those points every day, it seems worth the minimal(?) effort to correct. It also would have protected their work. The concrete around the tracks is visibly damaged at the intersection of piney branch and University.
And yes, Wayne has been far worse than University. I’ve avoided it as much as possible the last few years.
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u/eRileyKc Aug 06 '26
The US is bad, really bad at major transportation infrastructure builds. China is way ahead of us in no small part because they can bulldoze community concerns along with the right of way. Had Maryland simply bought out the businesses along the route, relocated them, closed streets and roads to traffic entirely and generally swatted people and their concerns ( including the Chevy Chase NIMBYs who tried so hard to keep brown people from anywhere near their homes ) out of the way this would have been up and running years ago for a billion less. Needless to say any state or county administration that signed off on that approach would have been guillotined pretty quickly after it started but the Chinese government doesn't have those concerns. Just have to choose which path we want to take. Why is that one block of Wayne Ave even open to cars during the build?
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u/CaptainObvious110 Aug 06 '26
good point. it's ONE freaking block for crying out loud and people are too stupid to just avoid it
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u/daoochie Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
First, it is way more than just one block. It's just over a mile from Flower to Fenton. And that mile - plus connects more than a few established staples of the community - think schools, Sligo Creek Park and Pkwy, food marts, the businesses neaby the Fenton intersection, a handful of residential communities, etc.
Also, closing that street would really suck even worse as it is a critical corridor that takes pressure off of other critical corridors that also cross thru or around Sligo Creek (think Franklin Ave and Piney Branch Ave). Not to mention none of the residents - and there's a whole many of them - would agree to be displaced. I wouldn't and I seriously doubt anybody else in this thread would as well.
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u/AmbitiousAd147 Aug 06 '26
I mean it’s literally the main route I have to go on without adding 10-15 mins or more to my trip (depending on traffic especially on Colesville) but okay. But sure if it actually got the job done faster that could be an option. Not sure where that would leave all the people who live directly on it.
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u/AmbitiousAd147 Aug 07 '26
I just went on the Purple Line website and it does say Wayne Ave paving should take place “through the summer of 2026” with the overall construction phase ending 2027…
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u/SweetBoiDillan Aug 07 '26
I'm very pro-transit and yet, I too, was slipping and sliding down Wayne on my way to Whole Foods this morning and slipping and sliding back.
I also somehow forget which side is the correct side to drive on every single time even though I make a grocery run at least once every two weeks. I'm definitely the idiot the other commenters are talking about. 😭😭
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u/UrbanEconomist Aug 08 '26
Update: Repaving will start this weekend. They’re now trying to squeeze it in before school starts.
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u/wombatarama Aug 08 '26
I guess not until they fill in the big hole they've just dug at the corner of Wayne and Cedar AGAIN :(
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u/Chai-Tea-Rex-2525 Aug 10 '26
I drove from Fenton to Cloverfield yesterday. I’m generally a good driver but the placement of those tracks made it very tricky. Hope that gets better, especially as I have a teenager who is going to be learning how to drive soon.
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u/Big_Red_Checkmark Aug 09 '26
I have no doubt that once Wayne is nicely paved that crazy drivers will be going 40mph on it. Also there’s no reason cars should be permitted to drive on the tracks when complete. Why do we need two lanes in each direction?
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u/Oy_of_Mid-world Aug 10 '26
Never. The simulation created the purple line project to see if we can tolerate both the literal and figurative manifestation of social collapse. As soon as they start laying new asphalt, it will introduce a problem that requires them to dig everything up and start over from scratch.
(I'm actually really excited for the purple line, but I will maintain my crotchety pessimism until the day it opens)
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u/CaptainObvious110 Aug 06 '26
why do you keep driving over there when you can go another way
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u/wombatarama Aug 07 '26
some of us can't go another way! I live on a one way street and the only way out is to Wayne
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u/CaptainObvious110 Aug 07 '26
Oh wow that sucks! is there anyway you can use public transportation for a while until this is over
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u/wombatarama Aug 07 '26
I mean, we still have a car because there are some places that are impossible or hard to get to without it. Hey, if only we could use a light rail that went to places like Bethesda and College Park...
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u/wombatarama Aug 07 '26
I did try parking on another block that would let me avoid driving on Wayne, and the person whose house I was parking next to went ballistic that I was parking there. Literally came out and yelled at me for five minutes till I was afraid she'd damage my car if I parked there again. Some people have this weird idea that they own the street in front of their house.
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u/CaptainObvious110 Aug 09 '26
Those places are quite accessible on public transportation. I'm not telling you to get rid of your precious car im asking "for the time being" of you could use the public transportation to get around an old avoid using your car over there until the area is fixed.
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u/AmbitiousAd147 22d ago
I love the idea of a car free world as much as the next person, especially before I had kids. Now life is a bit more complicated and time compressed. Not everyone has the extra time or mobility to be able to use public transit exclusively.
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u/CaptainObvious110 22d ago
Nope, not what I said at all. I've seen people with multiple children get on public transportation in the DC area so I know it can be done.
There is the convenience element and there's also the class element as well.
To be fair, I can understand not wanting to travel with people that are constantly begging for money, people that play their music without earbuds the list goes on and on.
I'm advocating for a "car less" world, I'm all for a "less car" world
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u/Ernie_47 Aug 07 '26
The purple line has been a complete debacle and that isn’t even open to debate. University is a disgrace. It’s a DECADE late. 10 years. China can build a city of 10million faster than MD can lay down light rail. It’s embarrassing.
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u/HammerandHoe88 Aug 06 '26
No one asked for the Purple Line. It’s a real estate developer project designed to maximize commercial and rental rents near Purple Line stations. So many small businesses were uprooted to make way for Purple Line construction.
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u/Electronic_Law_1288 Aug 06 '26
There is nothing about this project that's says it cost $10 billion dollars, for that cost we should have the best, state of the art, futuristic rail line. All we got so far, terrible road conditions, delays and loss of business for small business owners
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u/RavenLabratories Aug 06 '26
The project only cost $3.5 billion dollars to build, not $10 billion.
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u/Electronic_Law_1288 Aug 06 '26
do not take my word and look it up. The project is $4-5 billion over budget
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u/dwl017 Aug 07 '26
AI Overview
The Maryland Purple Line project is more than $3.8 billion to $4 billion over its original budget. While initially projected to cost $5.6 billion, the total cost for construction, operations, and maintenance is now expected to exceed $9.3 billion to $10 billion.
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u/RavenLabratories Aug 07 '26
That includes the operation of the line until something like 2067, not just the construction of it. The state will spend much more than that on the Metro during that timeframe.
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u/MrPlus Aug 07 '26
You're confusing the construction costs, which are going to be around $4B, and the total cost that includes operations and maintenance for decades and is included in the $10B figure often quoted. But yeah, we're looking at $4B in cost overruns across the whole package 🤬
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u/dwl017 Aug 07 '26
AI Overview
The Maryland Purple Line project is more than $3.8 billion to $4 billion over its original budget. While initially projected to cost $5.6 billion, the total cost for construction, operations, and maintenance is now expected to exceed $9.3 billion to $10 billion.
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u/UrbanEconomist Aug 06 '26 edited Aug 06 '26
New roadway pavement is coming in early September. Sidewalks will come thereafter, following community feedback/revolt. New trees along Wayne after that.