The delivery of the long-awaited Purple Line in Maryland has been pushed back by another eight months due to repeated construction delays, and the Maryland Department of Transportation is asking the state Board of Public Works for another $425 million to help finally get the project over the finish line.
The Department of Transportation said Friday that it now expects the 16.2-mile rail line stretching from New Carrollton to Bethesda will open in December 2027, not the spring of 2027 as it estimated in July of last year. It attributed the delay to the challenges of building a light rail system in a “dense, urban environment, coupled with significant vehicular and pedestrian traffic.”
Additionally, the department said the Maryland Transit Administration and Purple Line Partners, the public-private entity overseeing the project, is seeking approval for an additional $425 million to pay for remaining utility work, among other things. If the funding is approved by the Board of Public Works, that would bring the project’s total cost to roughly $10 billion, including financing.
Initially approved in 2016, the project was supposed to cost around $5.6 billion and be completed in 2022. But he project has faced setbacks, most notably in 2020, when the design-build contractor walked off the job amid disputes with the state over cost overruns. The project sat dormant for close to two years before another contractor was selected.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Alan Kline over at Washington Business Journal
