USA: Major construction works on Maryland’s Purple Line light rail project are set to resume, after PPP concessionaire Purple Line Transit Partners reached financial close on a funding package. This covers completion of the line and future operations and maintenance. Opening of the 26 km orbital route between New Carrollton and Bethesda in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC is now expected in autumn 2026.
In 2016 Maryland awarded the PLTP joint venture of infrastructure asset manager Meridiam, investor Star America and construction company Fluor a $5·6bn PPP contract to design, build, finance and operate the line. PLTP in turn appointed the Purple Line Transit Constructors joint venture of Fluor, The Lane Construction Co and Traylor Bros to build the line.
Opening was originally scheduled for 2022, however PLTC pulled out of the project in 2020 after disputes over land acquisition, environmental approval and design changes brought significant delays and increased the cost by $519m.
In November 2020 the state agreed to pay PLTP $250m in an out-of-court settlement, and Fluor withdrew from the project. Maryland Transit Administration took over responsibility for ongoing contracts while PLTP appointed a new construction contractor, with the Maryland Transit Solutions joint venture of Dragados USA and OHL USA being selected in November 2021.
The 40-year financing package which has now been arranged by PLTP comprises:
- $1·76bn Transportation Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Act loan from the federal Department of Transportation to PLTP, replacing and restructuring the original TIFIA loan;
- $643m in private activity bonds issued to PLTP;
- $293m of PLTP shareholder equity.
‘We are excited to start a new chapter and deliver the Purple Line to Maryland’, said Holly Arnold, Administrator at the Maryland Transit Administration, on April 14. ‘There will be a noticeable increase in construction activity later this spring and summer as this critical project moves forward. The Purple Line will revolutionise transportation in the Washington DC region, with convenient service within an interconnected transit system.’
