USA: The opening date for the 26 km Purple Line light rail route between New Carrollton and Bethesda in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC has been pushed back again.
‘Despite significant achievements in the last year, including reaching project completion of more than 65%, an additional delay is necessary at this time due to the complex nature of the project’, said Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnoldon March 1. The state’s Department of Transportation said the project faced ‘challenging construction conditions’ because of the dense urban environment with significant vehicular and pedestrian traffic which had delayed project-related work by the agency.
Opening was originally scheduled for early 2022, but the project became mired in disputes over land acquisition, environmental approval and design changes. A new agreement was reached in 2022 with opening planned for autumn 2026, but this has now been pushed back to winter 2027.
Maryland Transit Administration is also to provide the project’s PPP concessionaire Purple Line Transit Partners with up to $425m over five years subject to the achievement of milestones such as the arrival of the first light rail vehicle, completion of major construction work on the University of Maryland College Park campus, reopening of the Capital Crescent Trail and the start of testing.
Purple Line Transit Partners is to provide $4m to extend a programme providing grants to businesses impacted by construction, and has committed to an on-the-job training programme.
