Another Setback for Purple Line Light Rail Project

“The @PurpleLineMD is a complex project that has seen its share of complications including the set aside of environmental documentation in 2016 & bringing on a new design-build contractor in 2022 to complete work that had sat dormant for 2 years,” Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold reported in a Twitter post on July 14. The agency and Purple Line Transit Partners are facing further delays and seeking approval for a new opening date: spring 2027. (Photograph Courtesy of Holly Arnold, via Twitter)

The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) and Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP) are seeking approval to push the long-delayed Purple Line’s launch date from fall 2026 to spring 2027.

The organizations on July 14 reported requesting Maryland Board of Public Works’ approval of a modification to their Purple Line Public-Private Partnership (P3) agreement that extends the contractual deadline for achieving revenue service availability to spring 2027. The 16.2-mile, 21-station light rail project, which broke ground in 2017, is slated to carry riders between Bethesda in Montgomery County and New Carrollton in Prince George’s County, and to provide direct connections to four branches of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority system, all three MARC commuter rail lines in the Baltimore-Washington metro area, and Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line; the project also includes completion of the Capital Crescent Trail. Originally anticipated to open in March 2022, the Purple Line was plagued with delays and cost overruns that led to litigation, which was resolved in November 2020. 

The latest project schedule change “reflects delays in completion of utility relocation activities, the challenges and complexities of completing construction in a dense urban environment with significant pedestrian and vehicular traffic, the ongoing national workforce and supply chain issues, and the unique history of the Purple Line Light Rail Project,” according to MDOT MTA and PLTP. “The project’s history includes two highly uncommon events: a set aside, and later reinstatement, of a key federal government environmental approval in 2016 and the replacement of the design-build contractor in 2022. The new design-build contractor [Maryland Transit Solutions, comprising Dragados USA Inc. and OHL USA Inc.] faced unexpected conditions as some construction sites that sat dormant for nearly two years were reopened.”

MDOT MTA and PLTD said they have collaborated over the past several months “to identify and mitigate delays where possible and to reach agreement on an equitable resolution of project delays.” In addition to the extension of the project’s revenue service availability deadline, MDOT MTA will provide net compensation to PLTD of $148 million, including an increase of $205 million paid during the construction period, less a $57 million reduction to payments made during the operations and maintenance period. “This compensation amount reflects the additional cost of continuing construction activities during the extended period,” the organizations reported. “The agreement is subject to approval by the Board of Public Works and is scheduled for review July 19, 2023.”

MDOT MTA is working under a P3 agreement with PLTD to design, build, operate and maintain the light rail system for 35 years. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau in April 2022 awarded PLTP an up to $1.76 billion Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan, which replaces a previous $874.6 million loan that closed in June 2016.

The total project cost is estimated at more than $9 billion—up some 60% from the 2016 estimate of $5.59 billion.

The Purple Line project is more than 50% complete, according to MDOT MTA and PLTP, which said that construction is advancing along the entire alignment from New Carrollton to Bethesda at 60 active construction sites with approximately 700 workers. Construction activity now under way includes utility relocation work and replacement and upgrading of storm drain systems. Also under way: construction of nine Purple Line stations—Bethesda, Connecticut Ave., Lyttonsville, Manchester Place, Silver Spring, Silver Spring Library, Campus Drive UMD, Riverdale Park–North, and Glenridge; bridge and retaining wall construction, including completion of Talbot Avenue in Silver Spring; track installation at Ellin Road, the Plymouth Tunnel, and Campus Drive at the University of Maryland; and vertical excavation (blasting) of a 130-foot shaft at the Bethesda station, which will connect future Purple Line riders to WMATA’s Red Line. Additionally, work continues to prepare the Glenridge Operations and Maintenance Facility to begin receiving 28 new light rail vehicles from CAF in early 2024.

MDOT MTA and PLTP reported that they meet weekly to review construction progress, anticipate potential schedule impacts, and develop mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of further delays. Mitigation strategies, they said, may include rescheduling certain work to run concurrently rather than sequentially, resequencing work activities, extending work hours, adding additional crews, revising maintenance of traffic plans, and ordering materials in advance to ensure timely delivery.

“Updating the schedule to reflect the challenges we are facing on the project is an important step in accountability and delivering a project that the region can be proud of,” Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold said. “We are thankful to our partners and the community for their support and patience as we work to complete the Purple Line.”

“We understand the impacts that prolonged construction creates for the residents and businesses along the Purple Line alignment and will continue to minimize disruptions where possible,” said Ray Biggs II, Purple Line Project Director. “We are also focused on improving collaboration with stakeholders and third parties to maximize the ability to advance the rate of construction. For example, this summer, the University of Maryland, College Park, agreed to a closure of Campus Drive and Union Lane to help expedite construction on campus by enabling the contractor to complete construction quicker than if they were working around vehicular traffic.”

“Together with the Maryland Transit Administration and our design-build contractor, Maryland Transit Solutions, we’re doing everything in our power to identify innovative solutions to fast-track progress,” PLTP CEO Doran Bosso said. “Purple Line Transit Partners values the partnership we have with the Maryland Transit Administration to deliver this important project to the citizens of Maryland, and we strive to be good neighbors to the communities impacted by construction.”

PLTP said it is developing a grant program to support community initiatives and to provide resources to organizations in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. This community grant program will be in addition to grants available through a partnership with the Maryland Department of Commerce and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties to local businesses negatively impacted through revenue loss by Purple Line construction.