The project management consulting team for Maryland’s $2-billion Purple Line has been awarded an added $183.5 million to cover expanded project responsibilities while the state proceeds to select a new design-build contractor to complete the dispute-delayed light rail project through two suburban Washington, D.C., counties.

The contract modification, approved June 16 by Maryland’s three-member Board of Public Works, bolsters the budget for consultants AECOM, RK&K and WSP USA, which have overseen a much scaled-back construction effort since the original Fluor-led design-build group quit the half-finished project last summer in a dispute with the state over responsibility for approximately $800 million in cost overruns.

该州的私人财团合作伙伴表示，将于6月从三支团队中选出一个新的设计建设团队入围in March, followed by a gradual restoration to full construction activity by year end. No update was provided at the June 16 meeting on whether the selection will be this month later in the summer.

The consulting team was originally contracted by the Maryland Transit Authority in 2010 to provide project management and quality assurance services during the initial stages of the 16-mile light-rail transit project. Design and construction oversight responsibilities were added as the Purple Line evolved into a public-private partnership backed by approximately $900 million in federal funding. Construction began in 2017 with a target completion date of 2022.

MTA与荧光的关系随着成本和延误的加剧而恶化，导致持久的法律纠纷最终导致承包商离开。新利18备用官网登录去年11月，马里兰州与Fluor达成了2.5亿美元的和解协议，该公司还割让了其在P3开发联盟，Purple Line Transit Partners中的15％权益。

同时，项目管理团队代表MTA扩大了其监督角色，与承包商和供应商签订了约150个合同，以继续公用事业的搬迁和滚动储备，同时该财团评估了潜在的设计构建合作伙伴。

MTA要求增加的项目管理资金的要求指出，额外的责任大约使团队的员工要求翻了一番，从而耗尽其现有预算分配的速度比预期的要快。州运输部长格雷戈里·斯莱特（Gregory Slater）还告诉董事会，额外的资金涵盖了通常由设计建造团队进行的工作，并将与新的设计建设成本分开。

While the project management team’s contract has been extended to June 30, 2027, a revised construction schedule for the Purple Line will not be announced until the new contractor is in place.

MTA先前曾表示希望，加速施工技术等措施将减轻任何进一步的延迟。

MTA also released images of Purple Line rail cars, with about 130 now being fabricated in Spain and assembled in Elmira, N.Y. A state project director, Vernon Hartsock, said the cars, at 140 ft, are “about the longest light rail vehicle” in North America.