BETHESDA, Md. — An official in Montgomery County, Md., has blasted management of the ongoing and much-delayed Purple Line light rail project, saying it will “probably end up being the most expensive light rail project per mile in the world.”
The 16-mile, 21-station from Bethesda in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in Prince George’s County will provide connections to the DC Metrorail system in four places, to MARC commuter rail in three, and to Amtrak in New Carrollton.
But the project, originally slated for completion in March 2022 at a cost of $5.6 billion, is still only about three-quarters complete, and its cost has risen by more than $4 billion. Construction halted for about two years when the original contractor withdrew, citing more than $700 million in unpaid costs resulting from delays, mostly from design changes and legal challenges [see “Digest: Judge rules builders can quit …,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 11, 2020]. A new contractor was eventually selected and Maryland’s Board of Public Works agreed to a $3.4 billion contract to complete the project in 2022 [see “Maryland board approves …,” News Wire, Jan. 27, 2022].
County Executive Marc Elrich made his comments in the wake of a report that the station in Bethesda will need a second mezzanine for its connection between the Purple Line and Metrorail’s Red Line, pushing the cost from an early estimate of $2.4 million to $52 million.
“It’s been way too long and way too much money,” Elrich during an online press conference on Dec. 31, as reported by WJLA-TV. “… And I still question some of the decisions they made with construction that will make it more difficult for everybody else to navigate the roads than it should be.”
Elrich, a Democrat, blamed the issues on former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican. In particular, he cited the contractors’ ability to quit the project.
“This is his doing. It’s one of the most mismanaged projects; he left the state completely vulnerable,” Elrich said, according to WUSA-TV. “Walking away from a giant construction problem means that the company that started it is no longer liable, and the company that takes it on has to assume liability and makes sure everything fits in and that makes everything costs more.”
Elrich said the line is probably still three years from the start of operations.
Editorial comment: “of a report that the station in Bethesda will need a second mezzanine for its connection between the Purple Line and Metrorail’s Red Line” is incorrectly stated. The project always included a second mezzanine, the only update from the report was that the cost increased.