Work is picking up again on Maryland’s Purple Line even as the state waits to sign a final agreement with the federal government that would provide about $900 million required for the project to move forward.
“With a clear path forward, there are no plans to scale back pre-construction work,” said Maryland Department of Transportation Director Erin Henson in an email. Now, the state and the private companies designing and building the line are resuming preliminary work for about five years of full construction.
The work includes soil boring, surveying, design reviews, steps to purchase additional land needed for the project, and work on specific construction contracts.
The state had slowed pre-construction work to a crawl in May after a federal judge effectively barred the federal funding agreement from being signed until Maryland and the federal government updated the Purple Line’s environmental impact statement to reflect declining ridership on Metro.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Max Smith over at WTOP