Repaving Underway on Route 1 Streets Around the Purple Line

The developers of the Purple Line are starting to repave the streets around it.

With all of the tracks for the 16-mile light rail line now laid, crews have shifted to repaving streets and sidewalks torn up or redirected during construction.

Most recently, crews fixed up the sidewalk on the south side of Riverdale Road near the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. They’re also working on sections of University Boulevard in College Park, finalizing traffic signals at the Campus Drive and Presidential Drive intersection, and finishing the street level of the future Riverdale Park-Kenilworth Station.

Already, crews have installed or replaced more than 17 miles of sidewalk along the rail line.

Live-wire testing of the light-rail cars, which began on the Route 1 corridor, has also extended all the way to Montgomery County. Early next year, developers plan to begin end-to-end testing, which will have trains passing each other in both directions.

The first passengers are set to ride the Purple Line in the winter of 2027.

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