The Purple Line that’s planned to run from Bethesda to New Carrollton is on a list of 50 infrastructure projects nationwide that could be pursued by President Donald Trump as he follows through on a campaign promise to invest heavily in transportation improvements in the U.S.
The list was detailed in a McClatchy news report published Tuesday.
The “priority list” notes the 50 projects would cost about $137.5 billion, with private investment accounting for 50 percent of the cost. The Maryland Purple Line is No. 23 on the list, which notes it could create 5,000 jobs and that engineering work as well as 95 percent of the permitting process has been completed for the 16.2-mile light-rail line project. The Purple Line is estimated to cost $5.6 billion to construct, maintain and operate under a 36-year contract with the state’s private partner Purple Line Transit Partners.
The projects chosen on the list had to meet specific criteria, according to the McClathcy report, which includes having a national security benefit, being “shovel-ready,” serving as a job creator and having the potential for increasing U.S. manufacturing.
The list could foreshadow Trump’s support for the Purple Line, which has garnered bipartisan support in the state—including from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and the county executives of Montgomery County and Prince George’s counties, who are both Democrats. The federal government has already allocated $900 million in funding for the project.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Andrew Metcalf over at the Bethesda Magazine