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.

Claiming that the Purple Line is nearing a “crisis point,” Maryland transportation officials have asked a federal appeals court to issue an emergency order allowing construction to begin on the stalled $5.6 billion light-rail project. 

Proposals are due in March for the first segments of the Northeast Transmission Water Line, the largest line the city has built to date.