Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) staff notified GSSCC on Friday of changes in the schedule for water main replacement along Colesville Road. Due to unexpected difficulties encountered while digging through rock, and resulting delays in Pepco's work to upgrade utility lines under portions of Colesville Road, WSSC has changed the starting point for its work. Beginning this week, WSSC will begin working at Spring Street and will proceed north  on Colesville Road toward Dale Drive. Once Pepco has completed its work on Colesville and has made the turn onto Fenton, WSSC will return to complete the section between Georgia Avenue and Spring Street.  

Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP) has begun initial work on the much awaited 16.2-mile light-rail line that will run from Bethesda to New Carrollton. Because the $900 million full funding grant agreement with the Federal government was not finalized until the end of August, construction started right away, in order to avoid costly delays to the state.  That precluded the previously planned 30 day notice for construction impacts. PLTP and the State are only now setting up meetings for the first Community Advisory Teams. GSSCC has been notified that it will be represented on the Silver Spring team, but no date has been given for the first meeting. The Chamber is in touch with both PLTP and Maryland DOT to push forward for meetings that will provide Silver Spring businesses information about what to expect and when.