Blasts, warning horns ring loud in Bethesda as work continues on Purple Line

Did you hear it? If you were in Bethesda Tuesday morning, you might have heard the first of what will be a series of underground explosions over the next several months. 

They're part of the ongoing and oft-delayed Purple Line project. 

When it was time for the blast, you could certainly hear it but not really feel it.

It happened right after 11 a.m. with warning sirens first as people sat, stood, and walked on by.

Tuesday's detonation happened about 100 feet underground near Elm Street at Wisconsin Avenue. Crews are clearing another 50 feet of rock straight down to connect an elevator shaft from the street level and Purple Line station down to the platform on Metro's Red Line. 

Purple Line / @PurpleLineMD

The Bethesda station had to be evacuated during the blasting. Trains were kept away from the area until inspectors gave the all-clear.

Matt Pollack is the executive director of the Purple Line, a project of the Maryland Department of Transportation. He says the underground excavating will be sensitive to those who live and work in this part of Bethesda at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Elm Street near Bethesda Row.

"The blasting is going to take place between one and three times a week through the end of the year," Pollack told FOX 5. "Our blasting times are limited to between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. So, deliberately not at night and not during rush hour."

The Purple Line project, managed by the State of Maryland is a 16-mile light rail system through Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. Trains will travel from Bethesda to New Carrollton. 

Pollack says contractually the project should be finished by the end of 2026. 

"We'll see where it goes," he said.