The development consortium managing Maryland’s $2-billion Purple Line light-rail project can withdraw from its public-private partnership contract with the state, a Sept. 10 state court ruling says.

巴尔的摩巡回法院法官杰弗里·盖勒（Jeffrey M. Geller）于上个月发布了一项临时限制令，至少至少至9月14日，将紫色线路运输合作伙伴（PLTP）保留在工作中，最终与财团的论点一致。他裁定，“清晰，直接和绝对”的合同语言赋予了两方单方面终止该协议一年一年的权利。

双方无法同意两年以上延误的责任，并报告了7.55亿美元的额外费用。新利18备用官网登录

该州必须在一天结束之前与开发商及其建筑团队进行谈判成本协议，否则工作将沿着蒙哥马利和乔治王子县的密集的16英里项目路线，华盛顿特区的郊区关闭。

该州可以接管该项目或建立一个新的管理团队，这两种颠覆性选择都可能涉及州长拉里·霍根（Larry Hogan）的参与，观察者说，particularly with state plans to soon award a larger P3 contract for a critical highway interchange upgrade nearby.

“This ruling really heightens the pressure on the Maryland DOT to reach an agreement with PLTP. I hope they are able to find common ground, but the challenges of this project aren’t really a result of it being a P3," said Jonathan Gifford, director of the Center for Transportation Public-Private Partnership Policy at George Washington University in Fairfax, Va.

“Being a P3 just shines a very bright light on the hurdles and the huge costs for states and localities trying to build major projects under the U.S. system of environmental regulation, permitting and litigation," he said. "These costs can’t be shifted to the private sector, P3 or no P3. The result is that taxpayers end up paying a huge price for projects, far more than in other developed and developing countries around the world."

国家位置失败

盖勒（Geller）拒绝马里兰州运输管理局（Maryland Transportation Administration）的说法，即终止将导致国家“立即，重大和不可弥补的伤害”，并指出该机构没有采取任何措施与PLTP制定过渡计划。但是他说：“在法院之前的证词还透露，国家打算完成该项目'无论如何。'。“

“马里兰运输机构寻求前liminary injunction preventing the consortium from following through on its threat to terminate, as of Aug. 22, the 36-year design-build-operate-maintain concession.

They claimed that such a move would represent breach of contract on the partially completed project, contending that the agreement’s dispute resolution process has yet to play out.

The private consortium, made up of Fluor, Meridiam and Star America, countered that it had no control over several initial legal challenges, land acquisition delays, third-party design amendments and regulatory compliance changes that have left the project behind what was set to be a 2022 opening.

The Purple Line’s immediate future is unclear

Robert Alger, former CEO of Lane Construction, a member of the Fluor-led design-build joint venture Purple Line Construction Partners, told ENR that the "current P3 model based on lump sum turnkey projects is broken. All the risk is being pushed down to the contractor level with no ownership of the risk at the owner or concession level. This is not sustainable. These mega projects are simply too large to price the risk effectively."

Alger, now an executive at SNC-Lavalin Inc., adds that "until we see a change in the method of delivery from the owner side via alternate delivery, or some sort of shared risk and contingency, you simply will not get any of the larger US contractors to take this risk. Even more risk oriented companies from Europe and Canada are also looking to de-risk these projects in their portfolio’s of work. We need a reset to get these projects built,"

现在会发生什么？

During two days of court hearings this week, Purple Line Construction Partners executives testified that demobilizing and securing construction sites along the 16-mile route in suburbs of Washington, D.C., could be completed in two to four weeks. The building team has not announced when that process might begin. The consortium has also stated publicly that it remains open to negotiating a settlement with the state.

The state has repeatedly asserted its commitment to see the Purple Line through to completion, notifying more than 170 concession subcontractors and suppliers in August that it would exercise its right to direct their work, process invoices and applications for payment and resolve claims.

In a statement released to media, the consortium said it would consider added negotiation over project issues, contending that a settlement "is in the best interest" of state and municipal officials in order to complete the project "at a lower cost than any possible alternative."

Maryland Dept. of Transportation spokesperson Erin Henson said in a statement that while the agency disputes the P3 team’s right to terminate the contract for extended delay, state agencies will work with it on an orderly transition.

“MDOT and MTA remain committed to both completing the project and protecting the state’s interests,” she said, not commenting on whether the agencies will pursue other legal avenues against the consortium.

Pivoting to another P3 solicitation or other delivery method would likely compound the Purple Line’s existing delays and costs, requiring the state to tap funds from other transit programs. As in other states, Maryland has experienced a significant falloff in revenue as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.