Purple Line Open House Planned in Silver Spring

With semi-detailed plans complete for most of the proposed stations on the 16-mile light rail project, The Purple Line is inviting residents to a series of Open House meetings in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. 

The meetings are scheduled for:

• Tuesday, May 7: Silver Spring Civic Center, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Thursday, May 9: Riverdale Elementary School, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Saturday, May 11: Langley Park Community Center, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 14: Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 15: Woodridge Elementary School, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The $2.2 billion transit system will connect Bethesda to New Carrolton with 21 stations, including two in Bethesda-Chevy Chase and eight in Silver Spring.

Preliminary enginering plans and a final environmental impact statement will wrap up this summer, state officials told Patch. With adequate funding, construction would begin in 2015 and the system would open in 2020. 

Currently, federal and state governments are splitting the cost of the Purple Line evenly, although money from Montgomery and Prince George's Counties could be required in the future.