WASHINGTON — With a deal between Maryland and a private Purple Line construction and operation partner expected within the next month, Metro is preparing for the impact of the new light rail line.
The Purple Line, which will run 16 miles from Bethesda through Silver Spring and College Park to New Carrollton, will not be a part of the Metro system, but will be critical to how people move throughout the area.
On Thursday, the Metro Board authorized project construction agreement negotiations with the Maryland Transit Administration that would lay out the rules for construction to minimize the construction impact on the Metro system. The Purple Line construction is set to include a new second entrance at the Bethesda station and connections at other points.
“The Purple Line is coming,” Maryland Metro Board Member Michael Goldman says. “Hopefully, sometime in the next 30 days the state will be able to announce the selection of the contractor who will construct, build and then operate the Purple Line, and actual construction, keeping our fingers crossed, can begin sometime over this summer.”
Metro expects its construction agreement with the MTA will require Maryland to cover Metro’s costs related to the project and ensure that the changes at the Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park and New Carrollton stations work for travelers.
Metro has already been working with the MTA as Maryland reviews bids for the project. The additional review has delayed the project as Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration examined cuts to the proposal.
“The Purple Line will be an integral part of the Washington metropolitan area transportation system…when it’s completed,” Goldman says.
Metro already has a budget of about $4.7 million for Purple Line design and engineering support that the MTA promised in 2014 it would reimburse.
The state government has required Montgomery and Prince George’s counties to put more money toward the project overall than when the project was originally proposed.
Maryland also plans to rely on significant federal funding.
