For Immediate Release: Thursday, August 7, 2025
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, Councilmember Evan Glass, Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) staff and members of the Kemp Mill Civic Association gathered today for a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the completion of a new pedestrian bridge in the Kemp Mill area of Silver Spring.
MCDOT designed and constructed the pedestrian bridge, which provides safe access over a tributary to the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River. The project better connects an existing walking path between Auth Lane and Kersey Road which was disrupted by a growing creek bed. While mostly dry, erosion over the years made the creek increasingly difficult to cross.
“The Kemp Mill Civic Association reached out to the County and requested a safer, accessible walkway for their community,” said County Executive Elrich. “Our Department of Transportation worked with the community and came up with a well-built, solid structure. We delivered what was asked for, but our engineers also addressed future flooding risks with the design of this project. This is local government working as it should, serving the public with a solution that will last generations.”
Completed in June, the pedestrian bridge is ADA accessible and will allow an easier crossing over the embankment that had been getting steeper.
“It is MCDOT’s mission to build safe, accessible infrastructure for the public,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “As an engineer myself, I know I speak for all MCDOT employees when I say there is no greater feeling than building something you know will have a lasting benefit for a community. I appreciate the efforts of the Kemp Mill Civic Association to bring this project to our attention.”
Members of the Kemp Mill Civic Association members advocated for the project.
“We are very happy with this bridge,” said Kemp Mill Civic Association Vice President and local resident Jonathan Aghion. “It is just a beautiful structure in a beautiful place, among a wooded area that connects our neighborhoods. We’ve decided to dedicate the bridge to a neighbor who has passed away, Nicki Toys, so that her children and friends can visit her and be reminded of the impact her life has had when they walk through here.”
A memorial to Niki Toys is located at the bridge with an inscription that reads:
Dedicated in loving memory of Niki Toys. May her soul be bound in the bonds of eternal life. A beacon of empathy, a true friend, her kindness knows no bounds. A source of comfort, a champion of justice, she touched countless lives with her radiant spirit. Her love for family was boundless; her presence a gift. Though her light now shines elsewhere, the warmth of her memory remains.
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Niki’s late husband Aaron Toys and two of her three children were present at the event. Her youngest took part in cutting the ribbon on the bridge.
Before bridge construction :
After completion :
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Media contact : Emily DeTitta, 240-372-2282
Release ID: 25-300
Media Contact: Emily DeTitta 240-372-2282
Categories: Transportation
For updates and link to press release, see here: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=47469
You write:Niki’s late husband Aaron Toys “…
Niki’s husband is not her late husband. He was there.
The county wrote this so please let them know.