The first section of track for the $5.6 billion Purple Line recently was completed.
The 16-mile light rail system will run from New Carrollton to Bethesda, Maryland, and is expected to relieve traffic congestion. It will run east to west inside the Capital Beltway and will have 21 stations that connect commuters to other rail lines, Amtrak, Maryland Rail Commuter, and bus services. It is North America’s largest public-private partnership transit project.
“In Maryland, we are proud to be setting an example for the rest of the nation and the Purple Line is at the heart of our state’s infrastructure success story,” Gov. Larry Hogan said. “Two years ago, when we broke ground on the Purple Line, I climbed into an excavator and personally helped get the construction underway. Since then, we’ve been grading, moving utilities, tunneling, and now we have begun building and laying the first segments of track.”
The groundbreaking was held at the Glenridge site.
During the construction phase of the project, it will employ more than 6,300 Marylanders, Hogan said.
Hogan and other officials attended a ceremony commemorating the project’s first milestone Friday.
Since taking office, the Hogan administration has invested $14 billion in transit.