Maryland transportation officials have granted the contractor building the Purple Line a 160-day delay in the light-rail line’s opening but will not compensate it for related costs, according to a letter by a state contracting officer.
Under that timetable, the 16-mile rail line between Montgomery and Prince George’s counties would begin carrying passengers Aug. 18, 2022. The opening date in the project’s contract has been March 11, 2022.
However, disagreements over when the line will begin carrying passengers — and who will pay how much to offset holdups and accelerate construction — will continue.
The contractor, a consortium of companies known as Purple Line Transit Partners, has rejected the 160-day delay. The companies say problems obtaining approvals from the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission and an ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit aimed at stopping the project held up work by 266 days and added nearly $200 million in costs.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Katherine Shaver over at the Washington Post