Maryland transportation leaders have filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, hoping for movement on the Purple Line project, which remains in legal limbo.
State officials want the federal appeals court to stay an order by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon that has delayed construction on the 16-mile light rail line.
The line would run from Bethesda to New Carrollton.
“The Purple Line has broad support,” Maryland officials said in court documents filed Wednesday. “If not stayed or reversed before August 1, 2017, that order could cause the state to cancel the project, resulting in a financial loss to the state of approximately $800 million.”
The judge’s order, issued last year, stripped the project of its federal approval and directed Maryland to conduct a fresh supplemental environmental review.
Maryland is appealing the order.
However, without the federal approval in place, the state cannot secure $900 million in federal funding for the project. State transportation officials said, if the appeals court grants a stay, they will have access to that Purple Line money and receive enough funding to keep the project alive as the appeal plays out.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Nick Iannelli over at WTOP