Local Residents Talk About Purple Line at Open House

Turnout was strong and comments were mostly positive at an open house about the Purple Line light rail project at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School on Tuesday evening.

When it opens for business (which is slated to happen in 2020), the Purple Line will connect Bethesda to New Carrollton (16 miles away) on a two-way, light-rail trolley track. The cost is projected to be slightly more than $2 billion—half of which is to be paid for by the federal government, and half by the state.

The majority of people who attended Tuesday's open house were supportive of the light rail line, Maryland Transit Administration Purple Line Project Manager Michael Madden told Patch. 

Some were concerned with the environmental impacts of the project, Madden added. An environmental impact statement for the project is due later this year.

And, many were impressed by the topographical maps, detailing the Purple Line's entire 16-mile route, on display at the open house. The maps spanned several long table tops, and showed careful details about where the line would be built, and how much land it would take up.

The Purple Line may be built and/or run by public-private partnerships, Madden said.

A forum for construction industry experts to meet with the Maryland Transit Administration regarding the building of the light rail line was scheduled for Wednesday, The Washington Post reported.