A new construction team selected to complete Maryland’s Purple Line is expected to restart full-scale work on the stalled light-rail project this spring, state transportation officials and a private consortium managing the project said Friday.
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However, answers to bigger questions — when the line will begin carrying passengers and how much it ultimately will cost the state to build — won’t be revealed until the finalized contract goes to the Maryland Board of Public Works for approval, project officials said. The timing for review by the board, made up of the governor, state treasurer and comptroller, wasn’t released.
Firms managing Purple Line construction begin search for new contractor
The selected companies are Dragados USA and OHL USA, American subsidiaries of major Spanish construction firms. They will replace the previous construction team, led by Texas-based Fluor, that quit in September 2020 following several years of disputes with the state over extensive delays and cost overruns. The walk-off resulted in a 16-mile stretch of construction sites left mostly abandoned through Washington’s inner suburbs.
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The Purple Line was originally scheduled to begin carrying passengers in March 2022 but remains about half-finished, state officials have said. The new timeline, including the time required to replace the contractor, could add about 18 months to the schedule, in addition to the more than 2？ years of delays cited by the previous contractor.
Dragados and OHL offered the “best value,” project officials said. Those making the selection also didn’t have much choice. Though three teams were shortlisted to bid, only one other, led by a joint venture of Tutor-Perini and Lunda, submitted a proposal. The third team, led by Halmar International, did not end up bidding.
Officials for the Maryland Department of Transportation participated in the contractors’ selection, said a spokesman for Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP). The private consortium is responsible for building the line, financing part of its construction and operating it for 30 years via a $5.85 billion public-private partnership.
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The east-west Purple Line will connect neighborhoods, Metro lines and MARC commuter rail stations in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. Local officials are banking on its 21 stations to focus growth and attract development in older inner suburbs, particularly in Prince George’s, while providing a faster and more reliable alternative to buses. It will be the first direct suburb-to-suburb rail line in the Washington area, allowing riders to avoid having to travel via downtown D.C.
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In a statement, PLTP board chairman Jane Garvey said the two companies, a joint venture known as Maryland Transit Solutions (MTS), “showed they possess all the right qualities — thorough knowledge of the project, across-board expertise and a demonstrated spirit of partnership.”
PLTP cited Dragados’s “great deal of fresh and relevant experience” on transit projects, including an automated “people mover” train under construction at Los Angeles International Airport and three Canadian light-rail lines.
MDOT has continued some of the Purple Line work, such as moving utility lines and manufacturing the light-rail vehicles, since the original contractor quit. However, the lag in full-scale construction has been a major headache for Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration. In addition to being one of the state’s largest infrastructure projects, the Purple Line has attracted national attention as the first U.S. light-rail project to include private financing.
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Maryland Transportation Secretary Gregory Slater said he was excited to “move full speed ahead.”
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“We have made a lot of progress in this interim period,” Slater said. “Today’s news is one more step towards completion and one more step towards Marylanders riding on this critical transit connection.”
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Before quitting, the Fluor team had said construction was more than 2？ years behind schedule and $800 million over budget due to ongoing problems with state permits, design complications, land acquisition and delays stemming from a lawsuit filed by opponents. MDOT disputed the costs and scheduling delays but eventually agreed to pay the Fluor team $250 million to settle back-and-forth lawsuits. The line’s construction was originally estimated to cost $2 billion.
This story will be updated.