DALLAS - Two Maryland counties have committed another $60 million to help fund the proposed $2 billion Purple Line light rail system that will be built and operated by a public-private partnership.
The 16-mile Purple Line will span the northern suburbs of Washington, D.C., from Bethesda in Montgomery County to Carrollton in Prince George's County. It will connect with several lines of the Metro system operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority as well as Amtrak's passenger rail service.
Prince George's County agreed to provide another $20 million to the project in return for a pledge from the state that the system's control center would be located within the county and that initial construction would begin there.
Montgomery County said in June that it would contribute another $40 million.
Each of the counties had already pledged $100 million to the Purple Line, along with $20 million of land and other in-kind contributions.
Prince George's County will use the proceeds from general obligation bonds for its $120 million pledge, said Thomas Himmler, the county's deputy chief administrative officer.
The contribution will probably be over several years with six $20-million installments from the proceeds of 20-year GO bonds, he said.
Montgomery County will also use GO bond proceeds for much of its $140 million commitment, said County Executive Isiah Leggett.
Prince George's County has $1.7 billion of outstanding GO debt with triple-A ratings from all three agencies. Montgomery County's $2.7 billion of outstanding GO debt also has across-the-board triple-A ratings.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in June cut the state's contribution to the Purple Line to $168 million from the original $700 million pledge and killed the Red Line light rail project in Baltimore.
Progress on the Purple Line project depends on it receiving the full $900 million New Starts grant pledged by the Federal Transit Authority, Hogan said. The state is also seeking an allocation of federal transportation private-activity bonds and a $732 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act low-interest loan for the Purple Line.
The fiscal 2015 federal budget includes the first annual installment of $100 million from the grant. However, the FTA said it will not sign the agreement until the state has an approved financial plan and that won't be ready until after fiscal 2015 ends on Sept. 30.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., put a provision in the fiscal 2015 appropriations measure approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee in June that would make the Purple Line's first $100 million installment a top priority for any new transportation appropriation made by Congress.
The $100 million from the 2015 grant will remain available for five years, according to the FTA.
Maryland Transportation Secretary Peter Rahn said he expects the state eventually will receive the full $900 million grant.
The projected cost of the Purple Line, which had been estimated at $2.448 billion before the revisions ordered by Hogan, has been lowered to $2.16 billion by the Maryland Department of Transportation. The final costs will be determined when construction bids come in next year from the four international investor groups selected by the state in early 2014.
The state had expected the private partner to contribute at least $675 million to the project's funding, but Rahn said private investors now will be asked for more.
The successful concessionaire will build, operate, and maintain the Purple Line under a 35-year agreement.
The Maryland Transit Administration will set the fares and collect the revenues, with the private partner receiving availability payments from the state of $100 million to $200 million per year for 35 years.
Bids on the project are due Nov. 17, with selection of the private partner in spring 2016.
