Piney Branch Rd. segment to close nightly in April for Purple Line construction

Affected portion of Piney Branch Road shown in red

A segment of Piney Branch Road in the Long Branch area of Silver Spring will need to be closed overnight for about a week next month, the Maryland Department of Transportation announced this morning. The portion between Flower Avenue and University Boulevard will be closed to traffic between 10:00 PM and 4:00 AM beginning on or about Saturday, April 18, 2026. Purple Line crews will use that time to install the overhead catenary for the Purple Line light rail above the roadway. 

Local access to Barron Street, Garland Avenue, Arliss Street and Greenwood Avenue will be maintained during the closures, MDOT said, as will pedestrian access through the work zone. Remember that severe weather can alter scheduled construction and road closures.

Indecent exposure at Silver Spring bus stop

City of Takoma Park police responded to a report of indecent exposure at a bus stop in Silver Spring on Tuesday night. The incident was reported at a bus stop in the 8500 block of Piney Branch Road around 9:12 PM, according to crime data.

Lane shift on Piney Branch Rd. to begin in January

Purple Line Transit Partners has announced that the eastbound lanes of Piney Branch Road in the Long Branch area will shift northward on, or about, January 13, 2020. This is to allow for Purple Line-related construction.

Two lanes will remain open in each direction despite the shift. The lanes will remain in the temporary position for at least one year, so this will be an ongoing issue.

Piney Branch Center soil/groundwater contaminated, MD Dept. of Environment says

Property entering 

Voluntary Cleanup Program

The Maryland Department of the Environment reports that soil and groundwater studies at the Piney Branch Center, located at 8501 Piney Branch Road in the Long Branch area of Silver Spring, have found a chemical contaminant in both. Tetrachloroethene was discovered in soil vapor and groundwater near the former dry cleaning tenant's space at the shopping center, MDE says.

Property owner JBG Smith is entering the Maryland Voluntary Cleanup Program to address the contamination. MDE says the landlord will install a soil vapor extraction system to "protect occupants of the building." A prohibition on use of groundwater from the property is being issued, and a restriction on future uses of the land will be placed on the property until the contamination is eliminated. Until then, the land can only continue to be used for "Tier 2B Restricted Commercial Purposes," according to MDE. For example, residential housing could not be built on the site as it is now.

A public meeting on the contamination and cleanup plan will be held September 26, 2019 at 6:15 PM at the Long Branch Community Recreation Center at 8700 Piney Branch Road.

Purple Line work to begin on Piney Branch Rd. in Long Branch September 11

Purple Line work is scheduled to begin on Piney Branch Road, between Flower Avenue and University Boulevard, on or about September 11, 2019. Crews will be out on Piney Branch 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week, according to Purple Line Transit Partners. Watch for temporary lane closures on Piney Branch during this time.

Cell towers coming to Pineway Towers in Long Branch

AT&T Mobility, LLC is planning to mount an unspecified number of wireless communications towers atop the posh Pineway Towers condominum building. The towers' tip heights will be 136' above ground level, according to an announcement of the plan.

Single-family homes behind
Pineway Towers

Single-family homes are located directly behind Pineway Towers on Heron Drive. Pineway Towers is located at 8830 Piney Branch Road, in the Long Branch area of Silver Spring.

Shooting in Long Branch

A man was shot in the Long Branch area of Silver Spring yesterday morning. Montgomery County police say they found a 40-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his lower body outside the W Express gas station at 8550 Piney Branch Road, around 6:17 AM on Wednesday.

The victim told detectives that he was standing outside of his vehicle when the shooter approached him from behind, and pressed the muzzle of a handgun against his side. He said the gun then discharged, wounding him. The alleged shooter then fled the scene on foot. Police did not indicate what direction the suspect was headed from the gas station.

Detectives are attempting to develop a description of the suspect. Anyone with information regarding this shooting is urged to call the 3rd District Investigative Section at 240-773-6870.  For those who wish to remain anonymous, tipsters may call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County toll-free at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).  Crime Solvers will pay a cash reward of up to $10,000 for information provided to them that leads to the arrest and/or indictment of this suspect.  Tipsters will remain anonymous.

Amazon Locker arrives in Silver Spring, Long Branch, Wheaton/Glenmont, Takoma Park, Olney

Amazon Locker has arrived in Montgomery County at last, and Silver Spring has one of the first locations. Here are photos from the new Amazon Locker in the 7-Eleven at 7980 Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring.

You can also find Amazon Locker in Long Branch at the Bestway supermarket at 8540 Piney Branch Road, 7-Eleven in Takoma Park at 900 Merrimac Drive, at the Shoppers Food Warehouse at 6881 New Hampshire Avenue, at the Shoppers in Glenmont at 2201 Randolph Road, and in Olney at the Shoppers at 18140 Village Center Drive.

What is Amazon Locker? You can have your Amazon.com order shipped to an Amazon Locker location near you. Your package(s) will arrive at that location, and you will receive an email notification with an access code that will open your locker. If you do not pick up your order within 3 days, it will be returned to Amazon.

If you live in a building where you have difficulty receiving your packages, this can really come in handy.

Water main break floods Takoma Park businesses (Photos)

A break in a 12" water main under the 8700 block of Flower Avenue yesterday flooded several streets and businesses in Takoma Park. The WSSC said the main was 90 years old.

Water was restored about 5 hours later, the WSSC reported, and the pipe was replaced. Piney Branch Road was also flooded by the break, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Pete Piringer.

Photos by Pete Piringer, MCFRS

SILVER SPRING STABBING SUSPECT TO VICTIM: " YOU ARE GOING TO DIE TONIGHT! "

Montgomery County Police detectives are turning up the heat on the still-at-large suspect in the September 29 attempted robbery and stabbing at the Forest Park Apartments. They plan to hand out flyers with the suspect's description around the Piney Branch Road apartment complex this afternoon around 4:00 PM. That description is more detailed than the previous one.

Police say the suspect approached the female victim early that evening (police responded at 7:46 PM) and demanded money. When she failed to comply, he said, "then you are going to die tonight." After knocking the woman to the ground, he stabbed her several times with a knife. A passerby called police. The victim survived and has been discharged from the hospital.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, 17-19 years old, 120 pounds, thin build, medium height, black hair, with a black and white pattern bandana covering the lower part of his face, and wearing a blue shirt, “skinny” blue jeans, an unknown color baseball cap, and a black belt.

Anyone who has information about this suspect or the attempted armed robbery is asked to call the 3rd District Investigative Section at 240-773-6870, or the police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000.  Those who wish to remain anonymous may call the tip line at 240-773-TIPS (8477).

SILVER SPRING FIRE TRUCK BURSTS INTO FLAMES

A Montgomery County fire truck caught fire last night in the Long Branch area on Piney Branch Road, between Flower Avenue and Arliss Street. The vehicle was reportedly from Silver Spring's Fire Station 16, according to Comcast SportsNet Baltimore.  No firefighters were injured in the incident, which is now under investigation.

SILVER SPRING ROBBERY SUSPECT AT LARGE AFTER STABBING WOMAN ON PINEY BRANCH RD.

A woman was stabbed multiple times during a robbery attempt last night in the 9300 block of Piney Branch Road, around 7:45 PM. She has been hospitalized with serious injuries. The robber is still at-large. He is described only as a Latino adult male, wearing a dark blue shirt, and who wore a blue bandanna around his face during the attack.

ROBBERY NEAR SLIGO PARK, 3 AUTO BREAK-INS ON ROSENSTEEL AVE. - SILVER SPRING/WHEATON CRIME UPDATE

Three vehicles were broken into in the 9800 block of Rosensteel Avenue, in the Forest Glen area of Silver Spring on Monday. A robbery was reported the same day, near Sligo Park on Piney Branch Road.

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across eastern Montgomery County on March 10, according to crime data:

Vehicle burglary. 9800 block Rosensteel Avenue.

Vehicle burglary. 9800 block Rosensteel Avenue.

Vehicle burglary. 9800 block Rosensteel Avenue.

Drug arrest. Georgia Avenue and August Drive.

Theft. Giant Food (downtown Silver Spring).

Theft. 1200 block East-West Highway (downtown Silver Spring).

Theft. Wheaton Plaza.

Theft. Target at Wheaton Plaza.

Drug arrest. Georgia Avenue at Veirs Mill Road (Wheaton).

Theft. 2900 block Fenimore Road (Wheaton).

Drug arrest. 11200 block Triangle Lane (Wheaton).

Theft. Marshalls (downtown Silver Spring).

Vehicle burglary. 10700 block Horde Street (Wheaton/Glen Haven area).

Drug arrest. 11300 block Elkin Street (Wheaton).

Robbery. 8000 block Piney Branch Road (Sligo Park area).

Theft. 2300 block Randolph Road (Glenmont).