Maryland transportation officials have chosen a private consortium to design, build, operate, maintain and partially finance the 16.2-mile Purple Line light-rail line across the northern Washington, D.C., suburbs.
The selection of Purple Line Transit Partners—led by Fluor Enterprises Inc., P3 equity investment firm Meridiam and public infrastructure management company Star America—followed months of negotiations aimed at reducing the state’s financial contribution to the $5.6-billion project. Maryland now will pay $3.3 billion over the 36-year contract, which includes a six-year construction phase, slated to begin later this year, with full operation scheduled for 2022.