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Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) will ask the state鈥檚 Board of Public Works this week to approve a $250 million settlement with Purple Line Transit Partners, the collection of firms building a 16-mile light rail line in Prince George鈥檚 and Montgomery counties.
Hogan鈥檚 request, posted Friday on the board鈥檚 website, would draw the payment from the state鈥檚 beleaguered Transportation Trust Fund, further reducing Maryland鈥檚 ability to expand and maintain its road and transit network.
If approved, as expected, the payment would resolve a lengthy contract dispute that led PLTP鈥檚 main subcontractor, Purple Line Transit Constructors, to quit the massive and high-profile project in September, bringing work to a halt.
The consortium said that delays triggered by citizens鈥� lawsuits, design issues and permitting problems caused it to rack up $800 million in uncompensated expenses. After months of negotiations, the state and PLTP agreed to end their dueling lawsuits in exchange for the $250 million settlement that the public works panel will consider on Wednesday.
Given the urgent need to get the $5.6 billion project back on track, Hogan had little choice but to tap the state鈥檚 transportation fund, observers said on Friday.
鈥淭he state had to do what it鈥檚 doing,鈥� said John B. Townsend II, director of government and public affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic.
The Purple Line 鈥渉ad to be rescued and the state had to be the rescuer of last resort,鈥� he added.
The decision to raid the Transportation Trust Fund doesn鈥檛 sit well with members of the legislature from other parts of the state, but none were willing to criticize Hogan鈥檚 move on the record, as they were reluctant to appear unsupportive of the project or the jurisdictions it will serve.
The TTF is funded by the state鈥檚 gas tax, public transit fares and fees charged by the Motor Vehicle Administration.
The fund is under significant strain due to a variety of factors, including improved vehicle gas mileage, the increasing use of hybrid and plug-in vehicles, a drop in the number of vehicle miles travelled, and a reduction in bus and subway use.
A 2019 report demanded by the General Assembly found the聽聽simply to maintain the transit equipment it already has 鈥� and that was before the COVID-19 crisis sent revenues plummeting.
Brian O鈥橫alley, head of the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, said he supports the Purple Line settlement. But he said it鈥檚 imperative that funding for the Maryland Transit Administration, which serves the Baltimore area, be increased.
鈥淭he MTA is badly underfunded,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e should put a halt on any expansions of things and take care of our core maintenance and system preservation needs first.鈥�
In a statement to聽Maryland Matters聽on Friday, U.S. Rep. Anthony G. Brown (D-Md.) said Hogan 鈥渂ears full responsibility鈥� for the contract impasse that led PLTC to quit the project.
鈥淕overnor Hogan鈥檚 mismanagement of the Purple Line Project has been costly and embarrassing for our state,鈥� said Brown, who lost to Hogan in the 2014 gubernatorial election. 鈥淗is failure has left streets in our communities torn up, broken promises and now imperils roads and transit projects in Baltimore and across Maryland. In raiding our state鈥檚 Transportation Trust Fund, Governor Hogan is using taxpayer money to cover-up his missteps and threatening our economic future.鈥�
The state entered into a public-private partnership with PLTP in 2016, making it the largest 鈥淧3鈥� transit project in the country.
Hogan鈥檚 proposal to replace the American Legion Bridge and widen portions of the Capital Beltway (I-495) and Interstate 270 also envisions use of the state鈥檚 P3 law. In 2021 the state is expected to enter a Project Development Agreement with a consortium of private firms to build express toll lanes, which would be funded by variable tolls set by the contractors.
Townsend said MDOT had to resolve the Purple Line dispute to end the legal wrangling that has tarnished the image of such projects.
鈥淲ith the express lanes coming online next, the state could not show that it was inept,鈥� he said.
