Crash wall, COVID-19 adds time, money to Maryland’s Purple Line project
Written by RT&S Staff
A tentative agreement has been reached with the firms behind the Purple Line project.
Purple Line
What was at first lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit is now delay after delay after delay for Maryland’s Purple Line project.
It will take an additional five months and over $187 million to construct a crash wall for the light rail tracks. CSX Transportation is calling for the wall between Lyttonsville, Md., and the Silver Spring Transit Center. Original plans called for a different type of wall. The light rail tracks run adjacent to CSX tracks.
Purple Line Transit Partners, the joint venture building the Purple Line, has also spotted other problems that, combined with the crash wall adjustment, will lengthen construction time to an additional 17 months and add $526 million to the total cost of the project, which sits at $2 billion.
CSX submitted design requirements for the crash wall back in 2003. According to Purple Line Transit Partners, talks with CSX about the wall have been going on for a year and a number of solutions have been submitted, but none have been approved by the Class 1 railroad company. CSX denied this claim, and stated the crash wall is now in the hands of Purple Line Transit Partners and the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Purple Line Transit Partners also is now blaming the COVID-19 for some of the delays, stating an “act of God” makes it impossible to follow the original timeline. Some workers have been asked to self quarantine after a Washington Gas inspector on the project recently tested positive for the coronavirus.
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