A deal resetting Maryland’s relationship with its private partners for the $2-billion Purple Line light rail project was approved Dec. 16 by the state’s Public Works Board. The thumbs-up formally settles a protracted legal dispute over responsibility for millions of dollars in cost overruns for the 16-mile, 21-station project across the Washington, DC suburbs and clears the way for a new design-build contractor to take over major construction.

The three-member board, chaired by Gov. Larry Hogan (R), an ardent Purple Line supporter, unanimously OK’d a $250-million settlement finalized last month with the concession, Purple Line Transit Partners, to pay it an initial $100 million by Dec. 31 and the remaining $150 million by the end of next year, or upon completing a new financial agreement once a contractor is in place.

马里兰州运输部长格雷戈里·斯莱特（Gregory Slater）表示，该里程碑可能最早在明年9月发生。解决方案的资金将取自国家运输信托基金，这使得全州其他项目将留下什么。18luck官网

PLTP—originally made up of Meridiam, Star America and Fluor Corp.—had sought $800 million in overruns resulting from multiple delays that have left the Purple Line only 40% complete and more than two years behind its original 2022 completion target.

Fluor, the original design-build team leader, withdrew from the project this past summer, and subsequently relinquished its 15% equity stake in PLTP as part of the November legal settlement.

斯莱特（Slater）表示有信心找到新的设计建造承包商，以使紫色线路重回正轨，并告诉董事会，该州已获得“竞标者的巨大兴趣”。

尽管直到新承包商加入后，就不会宣布修订的完成时间表，但他说，该州将与重组的建筑团队合作，探索加速施工技术的应用，以帮助减轻任何进一步的延迟。

For now, Maryland’s transportation agencies will continue to oversee a scaled-back construction effort involving several dozen contractors and suppliers that remained with the project following Fluor’s departure. Slater said most of those firms will likely continue their roles under the new design-build team, with existing project labor agreements remaining in force.

Also to be determined is how much the change in design-build leadership will affect the Purple Line’s final construction price tag.

斯莱特说，该州希望通过重新谈判该州的联邦蒂菲亚贷款来收回一些额外的费用，以从较低的利率中受益，并在财团的30年业18luck.cub务和维护优惠期间增加所需的定期付款金额。