ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland’s Board of Public Works has approved the $3.4 billion contract to complete the troubled Purple Line light rail project, allowing construction on the 16-mile line to resume this spring.
The Washington Post reports the $3.4 billion figure includes $1.1 billion in work that has already been completed, as well as the $1.46 billion added in the latest revision of the project’s costs [see “Maryland Purple light rail line will cost $1.4 billion more …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 13, 2022]. The project is now estimated to open in 2026, four years behind schedule.
The board also approved an additional $3.7 billion for a four-decade agreement with the private consortium managing the project. The total cost of that deal is now $9.3 billion, which reflects the higher construction and financing costs, as well as a $250 million legal settlement after the original contractor quit in 2020 because of a dispute over unpaid cost overruns.
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