The overnight closure of the Wayne Avenue and Fenton Street intersection in downtown Silver Spring has been pushed back about six weeks, delaying part of the catenary-wire installation for the Purple Line light rail that will terminate at Bethesda Station.

The intersection had been scheduled to close the week of Wednesday, Oct. 7. Instead, crews will begin the work on or about Sunday, Nov. 22, Source of the Spring reported. The overhead wires being strung along Wayne Avenue will carry electricity to power the 16-mile line connecting Bethesda to New Carrollton in Prince George's County.

No reason for the delay has been made public.

Under the revised schedule posted on the Purple Line's updates page, crews will close the intersection nightly from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. for about two weeks, starting on or about Sunday, Nov. 22 and running through Tuesday, Dec. 1. Resident and pedestrian access will be maintained, according to the project website.

Purple Line Transit Partners communications director John Undeland said the dates are not locked in. "Please note that weather and other unforeseen issues may impact these dates," Undeland said in an Oct. 7 email to Source of the Spring.

Ride On bus routes 15, 16, 17, 20 and 28 will be detoured while the intersection is closed.

The Wayne-Fenton work is one piece of a broader series of rolling overnight closures along Wayne Avenue this fall:

• Dale Drive to Manchester Road: Nightly from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 25 through Friday, Nov. 6.
• Fenton Street to Cedar Street and Cedar Street to Dale Drive: Nightly from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 8 through Friday, Nov. 20.

In the Bethesda and Chevy Chase area, crews are already testing light rail vehicles between the Lyttonsville Operations and Maintenance Facility and Bethesda Station, according to the project website.

The Purple Line project is more than 92% complete, with vehicle testing underway across the full alignment, the Maryland Transit Administration said, as Bethesda Magazine reported on Oct. 7. The line's contractual construction deadline is Dec. 30, 2027, but officials told the Montgomery County Council's Transportation and Environment Committee that the actual opening date remains "dynamic" and depends on safety testing, Bethesda Magazine reported separately on Oct. 6.

A community advisory team meeting for the Bethesda and Chevy Chase area is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Microsoft Teams.