A staging area on the southeast corner of Flower Avenue and Arliss Street. Photo by Mike Diegel.
Preparation for the heavy construction needed for the Purple Line has begun and residents in the local area should begin planning for road closures.
For example, Arliss Street in Long Branch will be closed from Flower Avenue to Walden Road, affecting access to the Long Branch Library and one of the entrances to the Giant Food parking lot.
This section of roadway is where the only Purple Line tunnel will begin/end.
A workman on the site didn’t give an exact date of the closure, saying only that it would happen this month.
Customers will still be able to get to the Giant from a second entrance off of Arliss. The Purple Line Transit Partners also plan to cut a temporary driveway from the parking lot between El Golfo and El Gavilan restaurants into Giant’s front lot.
Library patrons will be able to get to their destination via Piney Branch Road onto the lower section of Arliss and up to Garland Avenue.
The Arliss Road closure is expected to last through 2020.
Also closing this month is a section of Plymouth Street between Bradford Road and Hartwell Road for the construction of the Manchester Place Station, which is the opposite end of the Purple Line tunnel. The entrance to the construction site will be on East Wayne Avenue.
The Plymouth Street closure is expected to last through 2021 and will not affect access to local residences.
Additional road closures will occur in the months and years to come. The Source will report on the details as they become available.
Construction trailers and equipment on the northeast corner of Flower Avenue and Arliss Street. Photo by Mike Diegel.