Maryland’s Purple Line has suffered numerous delays and significant cost overruns, and a mezzanine is the latest part of the project to increase in cost.
The planned mezzanine connecting the D.C. Metro‘s Bethesda station and the Maryland Department of Transportation Purple Line’s stop in Bethesda was estimated originally at $2.4 million, but years later, a contract announced for the project was for $52 million, according to a report from the Washington Post.
The planned second entrance to the D.C. Metro’s Bethesda station will include six elevators and a new mezzanine at the Red Line. It is being funded by Montgomery County but was designed by MDOT.
The long-awaited project connecting parts of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in the Old Line State is running five years behind schedule and more than $4 billion over its original $5.6 billion budget.
The Purple Line began construction in 2017 and was planned to be completed by 2022, but it is now projected to open in late 2027. The service will connect Bethesda to New Carrollton, with 21 stations, including stations connecting the transit system to the D.C. Metro’s Red Line at Bethesda and Silver Spring, Green Line at College Park, and Orange Line at New Carrollton. The project is separate from the D.C. Metro, which is run by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
The project made tangible progress in 2024, with the MDOT unveiling the light-rail vehicle that will be used on the transit system. The project has also received criticism for its cost, along with its practicality.
The planned transit system also received $96 million in additional insurance after it was approved by state officials earlier this month despite state Comptroller Brooke Lierman voting against the proposed funding. She expressed frustration over the continued rising costs of the project.
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A report from the libertarian Cato Institute in March found that for several trips on the Purple Line, there is little to no time savings versus current bus or D.C. Metro options. Going the length of the Purple Line, from Bethesda to New Carrollton, is expected to take 53.7 minutes, while a trip on the D.C. Metro between those stations would take 61 minutes, according to the report.
The Purple Line will, however, also include various stops not served by the D.C. Metro.