Purple Line subway construction progress

  

Story by Maryland Matters   Purple Line progress   An unfinished portion of elevated Purple Line track in downtown Silver Spring. Photo by Josh Kurtz.   Just weeks after work on the Purple Line ground to a halt in the wake of a bitter, years-long financial dispute, the state Department of Transportation announced on Friday that it has assumed numerous key construction contracts.  The move is the first tangible sign that MDOT intends to make good on its promise to jump-start the 16.5-mile project, despite the demise of the agency’s relationship with the financing consortium, Purple Line Transit Partners, and its primary subcontractor, Purple Line Transit Constructors, last month. Maryland’s transportation secretary said agency is “committed” to ongoing negotiations to deliver the project. A dispute over nearly $800 million in cost overruns led the firm to exercise its right to walk away with the line partially built.