Press Release

March 11, 2021
Cardin, Van Hollen Announce $106 Million in Relief Funds for Purple Line from the American Rescue Plan Passed by Congress

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) today announced that the Purple Line light rail project connecting Montgomery and Prince George’s County is expected to receive $106,163,373 from the American Rescue Plan as part of funds provided through the Capital Investment Grants program. The Senate approved the COVID-19 relief package on Saturday, the House of Representatives passed it earlier this week and President Joe Biden signed the bill into law today. The funding will help keep the Purple Line on track for completion in spite of challenges the State has encountered with the project. This funding will bring the total federal allocation for the Purple Line to more than $910 million since 2009.

“The Purple Line and the vital public transportation that it will bring to Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties is one of our top transit priorities,” said Cardin and Van Hollen. “One of the best ways to spur growth and build back from the economic downturn caused by this pandemic is to invest in projects that create local jobs while improving our local public transportation and infrastructure. The Purple Line is critical for achieving these goals in Maryland. We are proud to have helped secure this additional federal funding to support the Purple Line, overcome the setbacks the project faced over the past year, and move forward towards completion. We will continue to monitor the project closely to ensure continued progress and engagement of the local communities along the route.”

The Purple Line, a 16.2-mile light rail system with 21 stations, will connect Montgomery County to Prince George’s County and is expected to take approximately 17,000 cars off the road each day. Along the way, it will connect to three Metrorail lines, all three MARC Commuter rail lines, and Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line. Nearly half of the riders on the new Purple Line are expected to connect to Metrorail and MARC. The project has been estimated to generate more than 20,000 permanent jobs and more than 6,000 construction jobs.

 

 

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