The public-private partnership behind the Purple Line light rail project in Maryland fell apart in September, and has this past week been revived.
"The Maryland Department of Transportation will pay an additional $250 million to salvage a 36-year partnership with the companies managing construction of the delayed Purple Line," report Katherine Shaver.
The project "imploded" in September after cost disputes between the state and Purple Line Transit Partners, the contractors managing construction on the project.
"The settlement ends the state’s and companies’ lawsuits against each other and resolves what the firms had said were $800 million in cost overruns on the light-rail project between Montgomery and Prince George’s counties," explains Shaver of the details announced in a press release from Maryland Department of Transportation announcing he resolution of the conflict.
"MDOT did not release details of the settlement, and agency spokeswoman Erin Henson declined to say where the state would get the $250 million," according to Shaver. "She said more details will be released when the agreement goes to the state’s Board of Public Works for approval in December."
Read the full story: Maryland, Purple Line firms reach $250 million deal to keep project moving
Purple Line Construction Halts in Maryland as Contractor Woes Deepen
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.
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.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
California city breaks ground on transit connector
The project includes three mobility hubs and a pedestrian bridge.
After public outcry, Massachusetts city releases housing development tracker
Cambridge’s tracker currently shows 250 housing projects in various stages of development.
40 years after approval, Chicago breaks ground on new park
The park honors Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the city’s first permanent non-native settler.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority