RIVERDALE, Md. — Maryland Transit Solutions has been selected as the contractor to complete Maryland’s much-delayed Purple Line light rail project.
Purple Line Transit Partners, the consortium which will operate the 16-mile, 21-station line between Bethesda and New Carrollton, announced the decision Friday in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Transportation.
The winning bidder, one of three candidates for the contract, is a consortium of Dragados USA Inc. and OHL USA Inc. Purple Line Transit Partners said MTS offered the best value.
“In their proposal, discussions and oral presentation, MTS showed they possess all the right qualities — thorough knowledge of the project, across-the-board expertise and a demonstrated spirit of partnership — to get the job done efficiently and with excellence,” Jane Garvey, chair of the Purple Line Transit Partners board of directors, said in a press release.
The selection sets the stage for the transit partners to finalize financing to complete the project, and for the resumption of work on the light rail line in Spring 2022.
Work on the project has been on hold since previous consortium quit in a dispute over delays and cost overruns [see “Search for new Purple Line contractor expected to take until December,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 9, 2021]. The light rail line was originally supposed to begin operation in March 2022 but is at least 2½ years behind schedule.
