The University of Maryland announced Friday that its iconic “M” traffic circle will be rebuilt to accommodate for Purple Line construction.
The M — which has been on this campus since 1976 — will no longer serve as a traffic circle, but rather a decorative mound near the Mitchell Building in the Engineering Fields, according to a draft digital rendering provided by university officials.
[Read more: Purple Line construction is slated to begin this summer]
Construction on the new circle is expected to begin in the fall, according to a university press release. The new M will be in place prior to the removal of the old one, according to the release.
“We understand how important [the] M Circle is to the Terp community, and have ensured that our campus will never be without its treasured M,” the release read.
[Read more: UMD’s “M” circle planting struggles amid fungal pathogens, utility malfunctions and Purple Line]
Construction on the Purple Line — an above-ground light rail that will extend from Bethesda to New Carrollton — is slated to begin this summer and finish in two to three years, with the line itself expected to open in 2022. The Purple Line will include five stops on or near this university’s campus.
The new M circle will “still be in a place of prominence,” the press release read, and its location “will provide safer access for iconic photos, no longer requiring people to walk across a busy traffic circle to capture memories.”
