Purple Line Transit Partners, the contractors managing construction of the beleaguered Purple Line in Maryland, have begun to walk off the job as a dispute about cost overruns brings the project to a screeching halt.
"The companies building the Purple Line have stopped construction as they proceed with plans to quit the light-rail project amid disputes with the state about cost overruns," reports Katherine Shaver.
Workers still on the job are securing construction sites along 16 miles of the Purple Line route in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
"Maryland transit officials said they are still trying to reach a settlement with Purple Line Transit Partners, the concessionaire managing the broader project, over what PLTP says are about $800 million in delay-related cost overruns," according to Shaver. The fact that contractors are walking off the job doesn't bode well for a speedy resolution, however.
"State officials have said PLTP’s departure would add one to two years of delays to a project the concessionaire says is already more than 2½ years behind schedule," according to Shaver.
The potential for PLTP to walk off the job has been hanging over the project since May, when the contractors first notified the state about its intentions to walk off the job.
FULL STORY: Purple Line construction stops as builders prepare to quit
Maryland's Purple Line Gets the Green Light Again
The public-private partnership behind the Purple Line light rail project in Maryland fell apart in September, and has this past week been revived.
Maryland's Purple Line Light Rail Project in Crisis
The design-build team hired to build the Purple Line in Maryland could walk off the job unless a deal regarding the increasing cost of the project isn't brokered by June 20.
Purple Line Contractors Haven't Walked Off the Job, Yet
The latest chapter in the ongoing saga of Maryland's Purple Line light rail hasn't yet turned the page.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
5 New England states march closer to 800 megawatt wind energy project
Securing federal approval for the project may be complicated under the Trump administration, which has historically been hostile towards domestic wind power.
Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project
The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association