n a split vote Wednesday reflecting officials’ frustrations with the overdue and over-budget Purple Line, Maryland’s Board of Public Works approved the Maryland Transit Administration’s request for $96 million for ongoing insurance coverage for construction of the 16-mile light rail in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
The agreement with Aon Risk Solutions of Maryland will “ensure insurance services and coverage through the end of the Purple Line construction period,” according to board documents. It includes almost $12 million in retroactive payments to cover an outstanding balance for the past two years and six months, as well as coverage for an additional 1,473 days — roughly four years stretching to the end of 2028.
An MTA official said Wednesday afternoon that this will not further push back the opening of the line, planned for winter 2027.
Comptroller Brooke Lierman voted no, saying she was concerned about the ability of the Maryland Department of Transportation, of which the MTA is a part, to accurately forecast its funding needs. Lierman said she received assurances back in March that the MTA’s funding wouldn’t be in jeopardy as the department developed its budget — the department later proposed deferring roughly $670 million in spending.
