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Price tag for Purple Line light-rail project increases by $1.4 billion

Maryland can move ahead with Purple Line
Posted at 12:24 PM, Jan 27, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-27 12:27:07-05

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland's Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved a new contractor for the Purple Line light-rail project.

Once complete, the line would span 16-miles and transport passengers between New Carrollton in Prince George’s County and Bethesda in Montgomery County.

Initially it was estimated the cost of the project was $1.97 billion, but that has now increased by almost 75 percent to $3.43 billion.

The board blamed the price tag on "the post-pandemic market, the total project cost includes rising material costs across the industry, material shortages due to supply chain challenges, a smaller labor force, increases in the insurance market and other factors."

The developer originally contracted to complete the project quit following a dispute in 2020.

Construction was supposed to be complete by March 2022, that's since been pushed all the way back to 2026.