Negotiations Save Maryland Taxpayers $550 Million
ANNAPOLIS, MD—Today, the Board of Public Works (BPW) voted unanimously to approve the agreement reached by the State of Maryland, Meridiam, Star America, and Fluor that settles all outstanding financial claims and terminates the current litigation between the parties regarding the Purple Line project. Now that the agreement has been approved, Meridiam and Star America will initiate a solicitation for a new design-build contractor in coordination with the Maryland Department of Transportation and Maryland Transit Administration. Learn more about the agreement.
Following are Governor Larry Hogan’s remarks, as prepared for delivery:
“Today I’m very pleased to be advancing an agreement to move forward with the completion of the Purple Line project, which is the largest P3 transit project in North America and will connect New Carrollton in Prince George’s County to Bethesda in Montgomery County with a 16-mile East-West light rail line that includes 21 stations.
“Once complete, the Purple Line will integrate seamlessly with Metro, MARC, and Amtrak to provide more transit options across the region.
“Just the construction alone has meant the creation of more than 6,300 Maryland jobs and we have already seen it result in more than $2 billion in office, residential, and commercial projects in and around the Purple Line corridor.
“The projection is that the Purple Line will take at least 17,000 cars off the road every day, which will help to relieve traffic congestion and which will help make our environment cleaner and healthier. This project is at the heart of our state’s balanced, all-inclusive approach to infrastructure.
“The Purple Line is a long time coming, and we have certainly had to overcome some significant hurdles that set us back. Opponents delayed it for two years, costing taxpayers money, and threatened to kill this critical project, but we kept pushing and working hard to keep moving forward.
“I want to especially thank Transportation Secretary Greg Slater, as well as our partners at Meridiam and Star America. We spent the past several months engaging in some very tough negotiations which have resulted in successfully saving Maryland taxpayers more than $550 million.
“We will now be able to move forward with a new design-build contractor more aligned with our vision and the best interests of Maryland taxpayers. I want to thank all of the dedicated workers who have been out on the job continuing to keep construction going while we worked around the clock working out the details of this negotiated agreement.”
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ANNAPOLIS, MD—Today, the Board of Public Works (BPW) voted unanimously to approve the agreement reached by the State of Maryland, Meridiam, Star America, and Fluor that settles all outstanding financial claims and terminates the current litigation between the parties regarding the Purple Line project. Now that the agreement has been approved, Meridiam and Star America will initiate a solicitation for a new design-build contractor in coordination with the Maryland Department of Transportation and Maryland Transit Administration. Learn more about the agreement.
Following are Governor Larry Hogan’s remarks, as prepared for delivery:
“Today I’m very pleased to be advancing an agreement to move forward with the completion of the Purple Line project, which is the largest P3 transit project in North America and will connect New Carrollton in Prince George’s County to Bethesda in Montgomery County with a 16-mile East-West light rail line that includes 21 stations.
“Once complete, the Purple Line will integrate seamlessly with Metro, MARC, and Amtrak to provide more transit options across the region.
“Just the construction alone has meant the creation of more than 6,300 Maryland jobs and we have already seen it result in more than $2 billion in office, residential, and commercial projects in and around the Purple Line corridor.
“The projection is that the Purple Line will take at least 17,000 cars off the road every day, which will help to relieve traffic congestion and which will help make our environment cleaner and healthier. This project is at the heart of our state’s balanced, all-inclusive approach to infrastructure.
“The Purple Line is a long time coming, and we have certainly had to overcome some significant hurdles that set us back. Opponents delayed it for two years, costing taxpayers money, and threatened to kill this critical project, but we kept pushing and working hard to keep moving forward.
“I want to especially thank Transportation Secretary Greg Slater, as well as our partners at Meridiam and Star America. We spent the past several months engaging in some very tough negotiations which have resulted in successfully saving Maryland taxpayers more than $550 million.
“We will now be able to move forward with a new design-build contractor more aligned with our vision and the best interests of Maryland taxpayers. I want to thank all of the dedicated workers who have been out on the job continuing to keep construction going while we worked around the clock working out the details of this negotiated agreement.”
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