US Department of Transportation (USDOT) has granted a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan worth $874.6m in a bid to install to the Purple line in Maryland.
Purple Line Transit Partners will use the loan to construct the 16.2-mile light-rail line connecting Montgomery with Prince George’s Counties.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Located inside the Capital Beltway near Washington D.C., the line will connect major activity centres in Bethesda, Takoma-Langley Park, College Park, Silver Spring, and New Carrollton.
The US transportation secretary Anthony Foxx said: "The Washington metropolitan region is one of the most congested areas in the country, and viable transportation alternatives are needed to accommodate a growing population.
"When completed, line will connect residents with improved access to jobs, education, and medical care."
Apart from the TIFIA loan, USDOT’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is working closely with the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) on a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA), which will grant $900m from FTA’s Capital Investment Grant Programme.
MTA will also use $36m of FTA Section 5307 Urbanised Area Formula Grant funds for the project.
FTA’s acting administrator Carolyn Flowers said: "The Purple Line will help residents access one of the state’s largest job centers and its flagship state university without having to drive on heavily congested roads."
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) will be the owner of the project, while it will be carried out on a design-build-finance-operate-maintain basis by its private partner, Purple Line Transit Partners.
