Legal challenges have once again played havoc with the construction schedule for Maryland’s Purple Line, raising the possibility that the 16-mile light rail system may miss its planned 2022 start-up date according to state transportation officials.
Within days of the project’s August 27 groundbreaking—made possible only after a favorable federal appeals court ruling allowed work to proceed—residents adjacent to the Purple Line filed suit questioning tree-clearing practices by contractors working for Fluor-led Purple Line Transit Partners, which is building the $5.6 billion rail line under a design-build-operate-maintain public-private partnership. Those challenges were denied in mid-September, allowing work to resume. However, outcomes of other pending lawsuits could hamper construction yet again.