Riders looking forward to the much-anticipated Purple Line in Maryland will have to wait more than four years before the first passengers can take a ride, and it’s going to cost over $1 billion more than expected to complete.
The Maryland Department of Transportation cited the rising cost of materials, a shrinking labor force, material shortages due to supply chain challenges, increases in the insurance market and other factors post-pandemic as reasons for the delay and rise in price.
It will now cost an estimated $3.4 billion, up from $2 billion, to complete the construction, and the service opening has been pushed back from March 2022 to fall 2026. The original public-private partnership (commonly referred to as a P3) agreement in 2016 had a broader cost estimated at $5.6 billion, and with the new P3 agreement the cost has risen to $9.3 billion.
MDOT has picked Maryland Transit Solutions, or MTS, as the new team to complete the 16.2-mile, 21-station Purple Line that links Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. It will submit the selection on Jan. 26 to the Board of Public Works for approval.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Abigail Constantino over at WTOP
