How the Purple Line will change, and improve, trails in suburban Maryland

Maryland has chosen a team to build, operate and maintain the Purple Line in suburban Maryland. If the contract is approved by the state’s Board of Public Works on April 6, "the six-year construction project would begin late this year, and the 16-mile line would open for service by spring 2022."

In addition to the Purple Line, this project will transform and extend several trails, and create new ones. The unpaved, at-grade trail from Bethesda to Lyttonsville will be reconstructed as a paved trail with grade-separated crossings of major streets, extended to Silver Spring and rebranded as the Capital Crescent Trail. The project will also build a University of Maryland Bicycle Path and impact the Silver Spring (or Montgomery County in the P3 Documents) Green Trail, Rock Creek Trail, Metropolitan Branch Trail and the Northwest Branch Trail. 

The Capital Crescent Trail - extended

The team -  Purple Line Transit Partners, led by construction giant Fluor Corporation - will design and build the CCT for the 3.3 miles from Bethesda to the CSX railroad tracks in Lyttonsville and then along the west side of the tracks to the Talbot Avenue Bridge. It will cross the tracks on a new Talbot Avenue Bridge and then follow along the east side of the tracks to the Silver Spring Transit Center. The trail will be 12 feet wide with 2-foot unpaved shoulders except where physically constrained and separated from the Transitway by 10-feet landscaped buffers, except again where constrained. The entire trail will have a minimum 18 mph design speed.

From Pearl Street in Bethesda to Rock Creek the Trail will be on the north side of the Transitway, and will cross over Connecticut Avenue on a tied arch bridge (see below)

The trail will then pass under Jones Mill Road and cross Rock Creek on it's own bridge, below the Transitway bridge "to allow unobstructed views of the Rock Creek Valley." The Rock Creek Bridge will be a tri-cord, parabolic vierendeel truss (duh) that will be 16' wide at the abutments and 20' wide in the middle. An ADA compliant, switchback connection between the CCT and Rock Creek Trail will be built north of the Transitway.

From Rock Creek to Lyttonsville the trail will be on the south side of the Transitway. The trail has 22 identified connections (see Exhibit 1.4) at places like Lynn Drive and Sleaford Road. Where these connections are stairs, the stairs will include bike runnels. 

The trail will have lighting at all entrances, exits and underpasses and boxes to accommodate future lighting on the entire trail length will be constructed every 100 feet. 

The current documents have the CCT connecting to the Bethesda Station via a sidewalk, but that could all change if the Apex Building comes down. 

Silver Spring Green Trail

The Green Trail will have to be reconstructed from Fenton Street to Cedar Street and a new segment will be built from Cedar Street to the Sligo Creek Trail. The green trail will be 8 feet wide with a 5 foot buffer except at 801 Wayne where it will be 9 feet with no buffer.

University of Maryland Bicycle Path

The construction team will design and built a bicycle path paralleling the Purple Line from the intersection of Campus Drive and Presidential Drive to US Route 1. 

Northwest Branch Trail

The Northwest Branch Trail may be temporarily detoured from the eastern to the western side of West Park Drive, but access to the trail will be maintained throughout the work period. 

Rock Creek Trail

The Rock Creek Trail beneath the bridges will be raised on an elevated wooden boardwalk out of the 2 year floodplain. It will be detoured as necessary and remain open during work. 

Other amenities

Where sufficient ROW is available all MDSHA roadways will include bike accommodations at the intersections. Exhibit 1.3 identifies 10 bike lanes and 1 shared lane that will be built to connect in to the trails as well. 

At Coquelin Run, a concrete culvert, with knock out panels that can be removed later, will be constructed for a future trail.

At the Silver Spring Transit Center, the Metropolitan Branch Trail will be included with the Plaza Level Design.

The project will include bike racks at several designated locations and CCTV coverage of bicycle parking at stations.

Purple Line trains will accommodate up to 8 bicycles on a maximum length train.

During construction, all existing bicycle connections and access will be maintained, and when obstructed an alternate route will be provided. 

Three new bridges will replace the University Blvd Bridge over Northwest Branch and they will have 5' wide bike lanes on them.

Comments

[Greenbelt]

Great article, thanks TWC! I'm also interested in the Purple line's impact nearer the College Park metro and through East Riverdale. In a few years, we should have the Benning Road to Bladensburg section of the ART complete, the "Whole Foods" section of the College Park/Hyattsville Trolley Trail complete, the Greenbelt South Core trails complete, and now also the Purple Line connections.

[T]

Interesting graphic for CP. I thought they were gutting Campus Drive along that stretch by Stamp (where artist rendition is)? Anyway, good news on all the trails. But we shall see. I'll believe it when it's actually there. I mean, they built the ICC request and then didn't bother to actually finish it.

[Crickey7]

This is going to be a huge boost for cycling in Silver Spring.

[Clark]

Exciting! Can't wait to ride the DC loop entirely by trail (or the Mall).

[Evan G]

Very good news. I sincerely hope that this leads to fixing of the Northwest Branch Trail in time. This trail has so much potential, but has cracked pavement, one section of the trail foundation is being washed out by the river, blind corners, water crossings (very muddy), etc. Words don't give justice to just how rough the trail can be even if you have a full suspension mountain bike and don't mind getting a little muddy.

[SJE]

"During construction, all existing bicycle connections and access will be maintained, and when obstructed an alternate route will be provided"

This is good news. BUT the cynical me has to ask.

1. What are "existing bicycle connections". For example,the Capital Crescent Trail is treated differently from the Georgetown Branch Trail by Maryland, which administers the GBT through its Park budget. Do we know if the GBT is part of the "existing bicycle connections"

2. What are "alternatives." Do they just route people from the GBT to East West Highway?

[washcycle]

I think they're talking specifically about bike connections that intersect with this.

The interim trail to replace the GBT is the responsibility of MoCo, and wasn't covered in this document (beyond stating that).

[sbg1]

Great work to summerize from the trails perspective a complex project that many of us have been following for years. I work in Riverdale/CP Metro area and bike commute through much of the project areas. These developments (plus those mentioned by Greenbelt) will be a game changer for this area. Too bad the project was delayed to open in 2022 as I was hoping to ride the PL to work before I retire in 2020!

[Dan]

Adding on to what SJE notes, this is the part that worries me form page 14 of the Tech Provisions Book 2, part 1, "Concessionaire shall design and construct the CCT between Bethesda and Silver Spring concurrently with the design and construction of the Transitway. The CCT will be owned, operated, and maintained by Montgomery County no later than Final Completion."

Does this mean that a major commuting path with difficult detours around key locations going to be potentially shut down for 5 years?

If construction was done in segments so that the tracks & trail were laid from, Lyttonsville to Jones Mill over two years, then that key segment could open much sooner.

Earlier specification documents prioritized minimizing trail closure, but that seems to have been lost here. Is there any known advocacy on this topic yet?

[Brett Young]

What is going to happen to the B&O tressel?
http://www.cctrail.org/CCT_Photo_Album.htm

[SJE]

Sounds like a pretty big omission.

[Purple Eagle]

@Brett, if my memory is accurate, the plan is to use the B&O tressel for the Purple Line (i.e. for the train itself). There is probably not enough space on the trestle for both the rail line and the trail, so the trail needs a new bridge. And of course a trail for bikes and peds can change grade more quickly so it makes sense to keep the rail line on the existing trestle.

[SJE]

The current trestle is only one track wide, and might not be structurally strong enough for a train after several decades. It would make more sense to build a completely new structure parallel to the trestle.