The team of companies designing and building Maryland’s Purple Line has replaced its CEO, hoping a new leader will resolve disputes with the state over construction delays and potential cost overruns in the $5.6 billion public-private partnership, a project spokesman said Wednesday.
The change comes as the private consortium, known as Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP), and the Maryland Transit Administration have been ensnared in a debate over when the 16-mile line will begin carrying passengers and how much each side should pay to offset delays and accelerate work.
PLTP has said the Purple Line can’t carry passengers until March 2023 — a year behind the contract’s opening date — and then only if the state pays an additional $300 million. However, a top Maryland transit official said recently that the state still believes the light-rail line can open by late 2022 and that the two sides are “still far apart” on any agreement about schedule changes or cost overruns.
As of Monday, Peter van der Waart has replaced Fred Craig as chief executive of PLTP, said PLTP spokesman John Undeland. The companies are designing and building the Purple Line between Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and helping to finance its construction. They also will operate and maintain the system for 30 years.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Katherine Shaver over at the Washington Post